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Title: Johnny Tremain
Author: Esther Forbes
Number of Pages: 256
Genre: Historical fiction
Book Number/Goal: 4.5 / 12
Esther Forbes left college to join the WWI effort; she published Johnny Tremain, which is set in the American Revolution, during the heart of WWII. Unsurprisingly, American patriotism is the book's biggest theme. Johnny, an arrogant silversmith's apprentice, loses the use of a hand and is forced to leave his craft. He matures into a proud (but not arrogant) young man through the influence of role models and loyal friends, and through the war, which breaks out around him. The end sees him a patriot, ready to take up arms and face his fear of death for his country and the liberty of oppressed people everywhere.
I didn't really care for this book. Johnny is difficult to like, especially in the beginning. His hand is burned when one of the other apprentices, whom he has continually mistreated, plays a prank on him, and one can't help but think that Johnny deserves it. Even as he grows up, he's not easy to like; and the book seems less concerned with likeable characters (though they are quite believable) than with historical happenings and general patriotism. Still, it's not an uninteresting read, especially if one is curious about the American Revolution as concerned lower-class citizens.
Author: Esther Forbes
Number of Pages: 256
Genre: Historical fiction
Book Number/Goal: 4.5 / 12
Esther Forbes left college to join the WWI effort; she published Johnny Tremain, which is set in the American Revolution, during the heart of WWII. Unsurprisingly, American patriotism is the book's biggest theme. Johnny, an arrogant silversmith's apprentice, loses the use of a hand and is forced to leave his craft. He matures into a proud (but not arrogant) young man through the influence of role models and loyal friends, and through the war, which breaks out around him. The end sees him a patriot, ready to take up arms and face his fear of death for his country and the liberty of oppressed people everywhere.
I didn't really care for this book. Johnny is difficult to like, especially in the beginning. His hand is burned when one of the other apprentices, whom he has continually mistreated, plays a prank on him, and one can't help but think that Johnny deserves it. Even as he grows up, he's not easy to like; and the book seems less concerned with likeable characters (though they are quite believable) than with historical happenings and general patriotism. Still, it's not an uninteresting read, especially if one is curious about the American Revolution as concerned lower-class citizens.