Historical FictionYoung Adult
A Difficult Boy (Daniel Linnehan #1)
2008·272 pages
Two indentured boys in 1839 Massachusetts form a friendship while enduring harsh treatment from their master.
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Two indentured boys in 1839 Massachusetts form a friendship while enduring harsh treatment from their master.
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Details
Riveting historical fiction from a debut novelist about the friendship that grows between two young indentured servants, one of them Irish, as they struggle to survive their harsh master in nineteenth century New England. It is 1839, Nine-year-old Ethan does not want to work for Mr. Lyman, the wealthy shopkeeper in their small Massachusetts' town. But Ethan has no choice--it is the only way to pay off his family's debt to the man. Ethan tries to befriend the Lymans' other indentured servant, but...
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will contain mild spoilers
Sexual content
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No romantic or sexual content depicted
Violence & gore
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Recurring physical beatings by a cruel master; not highly graphic
Profanity
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No evidence found in available sources
Substance use
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No evidence found in available sources
LGBTQ+ Rep.
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No LGBTQ+ representation depicted
Religious content
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No evidence found in available sources
Magic & witchcraft
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No magic or witchcraft elements
Occult / demonology
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No occult or demonology content
Political content
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Themes of indentured servitude, class, and social injustice
Self-harm / suicide
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No evidence found in available sources
Abuse & suffering
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On-page physical abuse of child servants; tragic family-loss backstory
Other
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No information found