He grows from a prideful, brash firebrand of a boy with no future into a respectable, helpful young rebel who is ready to fight, hopeful about his own life and the birth of the new nation and ideals he’s come to love and appreciate. Johnny slowly becomes a part of the rebellion against England, joining in on recognizable historical events and eventually becoming a rather important part of the war effort in some ways. He eventually befriends an apprentice who works for a Whig (rebel) newspaper and ends up working for the paper himself as a newspaper deliverer. An outcast and a burden in a household that once held him up as a treasured asset, Johnny is forced to look for work elsewhere. His bullying of his fellow apprentices and his pride are two major factors that lead up to the accident that causes him to lose his cherished ability to work with silver.

His skill at his trade makes him quite arrogant at first, like a proud little rooster, and he lords over the other two apprentices, much to their irritation. At first, Johnny Tremain is not very interested in the hostilities between Britain and the colonies he’s more concerned with his hoity-toity position as the best silversmith’s apprentice in the Lapham household. The story begins during the days before the American Revolutionary War in the town of Boston tension between the American colonies and Britain is becoming tauter and conflict draws nearer as the novel begins. 'Johnny Tremain' is the story of a boy’s coming-of-age in a time of national revolution and upheaval. However, the age of this book does not diminish its high quality or its value as a great piece of historical fiction. It is an older book about historical events and the Newbery Medal Award winner from 1944, so it’s not the newest, shiniest, most desirable piece of YA lit on the market. While considered a classic in young adult and children’s literature, 'Johnny Tremain' is probably not a book that many young adult students will be dying to borrow from the library or buy from a local bookstore.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes