Doree Burt's Reviews > Johnny Tremain

Ok, first the things I thought odd: Even though this a Newbery winner, I can't see it being a hit with the YA set. Also, Johnny's worshipful man-crush with Rab, innocent though it was, was a little creepy.
Now for some of the the stuff I loved: Everything else.
Mostly I adored the elegant writing. I really felt as if I were transported to that era in Boston. Some of the terms and phrases have already been incorporated into my lexicon: Squeak-pig, sauce-box, man-grown. However one word, not meaning what it now means, will be left out of my new vocabulary...I won't start calling people sluts. But I will freely borrow, if only in my mind, descriptions of people, "gentle face and a disturbing tongue" and "pompous with pride in himself". Loved those!
(Warning: Social Commentary Ahead, you might want to stop now)
For me it was an interesting time to be reading this piece of historical fiction. With the current and growing visibility of a well-funded group of people, who seem more angry than principled, and who have stolen their name from a group driven by some pretty noble ideals, I appreciated reading about the original tea party people (even while becoming increasingly disturbed that the new folks have hijacked their name), and the disparity between the two.
I loved being reminded that the brains and hearts leading the Revolutionary war were not short-sighted enough that they were fighting just for themselves and the country in which we now reside. They knew it was much bigger than that, indeed, an example to the world.