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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
A boy's skeleton found in a cave from an accidental shooting; smugglers abduct then hunt the boys with bloodhounds; a shotgun is leveled at them; a man is mauled to death by a bear
Language
None
Common Sense Media marks language as not present
Sexual Content
None
Not present
Substance Use
Some
The boys confront a thief inside a bar where the men are drunk and unfriendly
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Set just after World War II: Jack's mother has died, Early is a neurodivergent boy grieving a brother reported killed in action, and the quest is fueled by refusing to accept a death notice
What this book is about
Printz Honor. Common Sense Media rates it 10+ and its violence entry is unusually long: "The skeleton of a long-missing boy is found in a cave, accidentally shot 20 years earlier," ammunition smugglers take the boys aboard a barge without permission and then hunt them with bloodhounds, one threatens them with a shotgun, and "a man is mauled and killed by a black bear." The boys also enter a bar full of hostile drunks. No language, no sexual content.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A man killed by a bear and children hunted with dogs
Shotgun threat against children
Grief over a mother's death and a brother missing in the war
Reader Verification
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