The Island of Worthy Boys - by Connie Hertzberg Mayo (Paperback)

About the Book

In 1889, the Boston Farm School didn't accept boys with any sort of criminal record. Which made it the perfect hiding place for two boys who accidentally killed someone.

Book Synopsis

Winner of the 2016 Gold Medal for Best Regional Fiction, Independent Publisher Book Awards

In 1889, the Boston Farm School didn't accept boys with any sort of criminal record. Which made it the perfect hiding place for two boys who accidentally killed someone.

Charles has been living alone on the streets of Boston for the last two of his twelve years. Aidan's mom can't stay sober enough to keep her job. When the boys team up, Charles teaches Aidan the art of rolling drunks in the saloon and brothel district, and life starts to look up--until a robbery goes horribly wrong one night and they need to leave the city or risk arrest. When the boys con their way into The Boston Farm School--located on an island one mile out in Boston Harbor--they think they've cheated fate. But the Superintendent is obsessed with keeping the bad element out of his school, and as both their story and their friendship start to splinter, Charles and Aidan discover they are not as far from the law as they had hoped.

Review Quotes

"Connie Mayo's fast-paced novel, The Island of Worthy Boys, transports you to the pungent gritty streets of nineteenth-century Boston where two unlikely delinquent heroes lurk. Fair warning: they will steal your heart. Mayo's dramatic flair, psychological insight, and mastery of nineteenth-century Boston make for a remarkable debut novel that reads like the work of a seasoned pro. Unforgettable."
--Katherine Keenum, author of Where the Light Falls

"An accomplished debut novel with intriguing characters and vibrant dialogue, The Island of Worthy Boys takes readers on a fascinating journey through the streets of late-nineteenth-century Boston and into the little-known world of Thompson Island's Farm School for Indigent Boys. With sparkling descriptions and a well-paced plot, Mayo tells the tale of Charles Wheeler and Aidan Sullivan--two boys on the run--and their escape to the farm school, where secrets abound and the boys' friendship endures the ultimate test. The Island of Worthy Boys will captivate both fans of Boston history and lovers of historical fiction."
--Kristen Harnisch, author of The Vintner's Daughter

"A poignant and moving tale of two boys who fall on hard times in nineteenth-century Boston. Hunger and desperation help to forge a bond between the two that is nearly indestructible. When the unthinkable happens, they go into hiding, living in constant fear that the ghosts of their past will return to exact revenge and seek justice. A thoughtful and enlightening story filled with historical appeal and an ending that is both unexpected and satisfying."
--Tamar Ossowski, author Left

"Mayo renders a historically rich tale that will not only capture readers of historical fiction, but a wider audience for its humanity, compassion, and spirited prose style."
--Sarah Anne Johnson, author of The Lightkeeper's Wife

"Connie Hertzberg Mayo has written a wonderful novel about the tensions and rewards of friendship, in all its guises. With her two fascinating protagonists, Charles and Aidan, and her portrait of the extraordinary real-life figure Charles Bradley, head of the Boston Farm School, Mayo has called up a vivid world of delinquents, school life, adventure in the streets, and unexpected mercy in a harsh world. Her book is an engrossing and exciting tale of late-nineteenth-century New England--a marvelous addition to Bostonian literature!"
--Ursula DeYoung, author of Shorecliff

"From the first pages of Connie Mayo's The Island of Worthy Boys, I found myself caught up in unlikely friendship between Charles Wheeler and Aidan Sullivan, the first a street-wise ruffian, the second a thoughtful, desperate boy, and the things they must do in order to survive. The book is rich with historical details, and the promise of trouble keeps the pages turning. It's full of heart too."
--Michelle Hoover, author of The Quickening and Bottomland

"Mayo transports us to nineteenth-century Boston, giving us the street level cacophony of street markets and teeming crowds in a way that offers a refreshing perspective on a beloved urban geography."
--Tim Weed, author of Will Poole's Island

"Hertzberg Mayo turns all this unusual material into a thrilling and often quite moving narrative about youth and second chances in an age with fewer social safety nets to catch boys like Charles and Aidan. The novel brings an alien world vividly to life."
--Historical Novel Society