Rating: My bookshelf

Reading Level: Early Elementary, Mid-late Elementary

A boy and his buddies stumble upon a bear, some bees, a chance to fight for an alcoholic dad to stay sober.

Possible Concerns:

  • Alcohol. One boy’s father is an alcoholic and stumbles with taking a swig of whiskey from an old friend. The boy runs and knocks it out of his dad’s hands, and a fight ensues.
  • Obesity. One boy is described as being rather large.
  • Peril. The boys attack a bear so as to protect another boy, get chased by bees, and fight a gang of boys who are tresspassing. There are gun shots, fistfights, etc. (I personally think the boys should have walked away instead of getting into a fist fight, but others may disagree.)
  • Judgement. For better or worse, parents or kids who are unbelievers in Christ may feel a sense of being an outsider.
  • Use of the term “gang.“ The title and several other references to the term gang might warrant a conversation about what a gang means in other modern contexts.
  • Guns. The boys carry a gun and end up using it to shoot a bear. There is mention that carrying a gun makes a boy feel like a man.

Things I liked:

  • Strong faith perspective.
  • Fighting for what you believe in.
  • Bravery in a time of trouble