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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
A significant accident injures a main character; war is a looming presence
Language
Barely any
Mild language appropriate to the era
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No significant substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychology of jealousy, guilt, and the destruction of friendship is the novel's entire emotional core
What this book is about
At the Devon School in New Hampshire in 1942, Gene Forrester and his charismatic best friend Finny exist in an idyllic world apart from the distant war. When Gene's jealousy causes an accident that permanently injures Finny, the novel becomes a quiet, devastating study of envy, guilt, and the loss of innocence — one of American literature's most enduring coming-of-age stories.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A character's injury caused by jealousy
The psychological weight of guilt and betrayal
Death of a beloved character
Reader Verification
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