Literature & Fiction, History, Parents, Coming of Age, Social Issues, 20th Century, Teen & Young Adult, banned books 

In this classic autobiographical novel set in the 1920s in rural Vermont, 12-year-old Robert Peck comes of age when his father dies and leaves him to manage the farm.

Robert Peck lives with his family in rural Vermont where his illiterate father makes a living killing pigs. Dedicated to hard work and plain living, Haven Peck rears his son according to strict Shaker laws. For this reason, Rob is an outsider at school, and often faces taunts and sneers from his schoolmates. Rob’s only friend is Pinky, a pig given to him by his neighbor, Mr. Tanner, as a thank you for saving his cow. Pinky turns out to be barren, and Rob’s dreams of raising pigs to help the family pay their farm debts are destroyed. Instead, he is forced to watch as his father butchers the pig. The ultimate death of Haven Peck makes Rob, according to Shaker law, the head of the household, and at 13 his journey to manhood is complete.