Johnny Tremain

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An excellent historical background to the War of Independence. Fills out the usually simplistic picture of popular opinion concerning the British, in a way young people can understand and relate to. Some British are friendly and winsome. Others were unjust and cruel. Still others were just serving their country and were not keen on subduing their colonial countrymen. Some Patriots were radical firebrands; others wanted to go slower and less aggressively. The tea party was painstakingly careful to destroy only the tea, leaving the rest of the cargo, and even cleaning the ships afterward. But it was also a pre-meditated act of destruction and rebellion, not a emotions-carried-away event.

Johnny learns to overcome adversity and gain confidence in himself. The personal character development is decent, with a little taste of the British decadence that went on.

Highly recommended.

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