Johnny Tremain

Some time ago I boasted that I had finally finished every Newbery Medal winner in my backlog. That claim was premature, because for some reason, I never realized that this book was, in fact, a Newbery winner. Sigh. In all honesty, regardless of its Newbery status, I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book. Not because I thought I'd hate it, but just because I didn't have a whole lot of interest in reading a coming of age tale set in the 1770s and written in the 1940s. I'd already seen the movie back in middle school and didn't remember the tale being anything out of the ordinary. And that more or less sums up this novel. Ordinary. Nothing I'm angry I "wasted time" reading, but certainly nothing I'd ever tell another person to look into. Actually, as far as young adult novels set in Boston during the American Revolution go, I much prefer April Morning, for what it's worth. (But then, I read that book back in middle school. Who knows whether or not I'd enjoy it today?) At the very least, I'm now definitely done with my Newbery winners and only have four or five more young adult books to go.