Fourteen-year-old Ernest Thornton stands before the principal of his academy, accused of fighting William Poodles. The truth matters little. Poodles is the principal's favorite, and Ernest refused to lie about defending himself. Now he faces expulsion while his attacker goes unpunished. What follows is a rebellion: students unite against Mr. Parasyte's tyranny, and Ernest must choose between his own survival and his stubborn insistence on truth. Oliver Optic was the most popular American writer of youth fiction in the nineteenth century, and this novel captures exactly why. It's a propulsive tale of institutional injustice seen through a teenager's eyes, full of the righteous anger of anyone who's ever been punished for someone else's wrongdoing. The period details - the corporal punishment, the rigid hierarchy, the culture of favoritism - make it a fascinating window into nineteenth-century American schooling. But the emotional core is timeless: the battle between a young person who insists on his integrity and a system that demands he bend. For readers who loved "Tom Sawyer" or "Little Women" and want more from that era. For anyone who's ever stood alone against an unfair authority and wondered if it was worth it.
