The boys grab weapons (e.g., a slingshot) and head out to go investigate something mysterious without telling their parents. This is one of a handful of occurrences like this. In fact, in one instance a boy heads off to tell his parent what is going on, but is eventually talked out of it. It is really important to talk to your kids about these things that make stories interesting, but would be extremely dangerous in real life. The bad guy also makes a couple of threats, but the book never feels too intense. One of the friends’ fathers is an alcoholic, but this is held in a very negative light. Finally, kids should be made aware that the book uses the term “gang” in a much different context than the negative way it is thought of today.
