Although the book Mostly Boys by Father Finn implies on first glance a book strictly for boys, don’t let the title deceive you! Whether the characters are boys or girls, the underlying characters do not vary. The challenges of obedience, charity, honesty, piety, fighting temptation, and so many more confront every young child, every teenager, and every adult. The situations may change, but one’s feelings, temptations, and reactions remain the same. Father Finn’s compelling writing style and life-like characters thrill and captivate any reader while demonstrating the morals every Catholic learns to cherish. Every time I read one of Father Finn’s stories I realize the beauty of Catholic literature and feel encouraged to practice at least one of the virtues portrayed in the story. The virtues and Catholic practices are brought to life as story after story demonstrate them in a way simple to practice. In the story “One of Claude Lightfoot’s Birthdays” Father Finn provides a preview of one of his most loved characters by portraying Claude’s ready wit, his adventurous spirit, but above all his Catholic character. Claude is like any boy of today with a loving sense of adventure but with a realization that obedience and truthfulness come first. A whole paragraph is dedicated to the thought process of the scrupulous boy as he determines whether his early morning outing is truly within the lines of obedience. When he is confronted with saving a boy from drowning who has just challenged a fight, Claude exemplifies the true strength in helping those who have offended you. Claude’s sincere character is proven once again at the closing of the story. In reply to his father’s question, “Claude, do you know what you deserve?” Claude replies with no hesitation “A whipping, pa!” Claude has realized his wrong but is resolved to try again. In doing this, Claude reminds the reader that the path to virtue is do-able but does entail constant effort. Only through this ceaseless struggle can we truly become perfect!