Set in 1889, Charles and Aidan are learning to survive on the harsh streets of Boston. The young boys develop a friendship and they begin working together to keep themselves fed. Charles has been without a home since his mother passed away and Aidan's home life is precarious. His mother is ill and suffering from consumption, but Aidan wants to provide for his mother and younger sister Ella. It isn't long before Charles and Aidan finds themselves on the wrong side of the law and they must make some drastic decisions.
The Island of Worthy Boys is a debut novel by Connie Hertzberg Mayo. The author does an excellent job of developing the characters and describing the locations. I could really imagine how dirty and dark the streets of Boston were at that time. I also had a sense of knowing Charles and Aidan, feeling their struggles to survive and their fighting spirit.
I really enjoyed this work of historical fiction and rated it five stars. I was most definitely immersed in the story and wanted to keep reading to learn where Charles and Aidan's lives would take them. I appreciated the research the writer included about the real Boston Farm School. The school's superintendent Charles H. Bradley sounds like a remarkable man and like the author, I too wish I had known him.
I received this book from BookSparks as part of their FRC2015 in exchange for an honest review.