Charming story of the adventures of a young boy growing up in New England; one particular adventure ends tragically. ( )

I can't say that the short novel (122 pages) was rip-roaring fun, but it was the amusing tale of a pre-pubescent boy in pre Civil War New England. I liked that it used some now obsolete words that I had not heard for sometime. ( )

Aldrich's semi-autobiographical story is memorable for its portrayal of a boy's life in pre-Civil War New England. The book's fictional Rivermouth is actually Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The writing is about as good as it gets. Aldrich has a great eye for detail, writes clearly, and has a very engaging sense of dry humor. Every character comes to life in the telling, and the adventures and sorrows he portrays ring absolutely true. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a sense of what life was like during that time--but even more strongly, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story and good writing. I'm so glad I stumbled across this book on munseys.com while looking for something else! ( )