I was 14 when I read this (still am), and found it to be just right and actually with an interesting voice. The narrator is supposed to be neutral for the most part, so things that might sound awful under other voices don't sound too heart-panging. Trust me, as a teenage boy, I try to avoid a lot of "touchy-feely" stuff. The novel had some crude humorous aspects, but in 18th century text, they can be tricky to catch. So, this content isn't that bad, only the violence and [animal] abuse. For example, a conversation between boy and master: BOY: Why aren't you a father? MASTER: Because there are many uses for sheep's guts. It took me a second to realize that the man was referring to his time period's condom.