Trouble Don't Last

Rating:
Summary: An Unusually Good Book
Review: I have read numerous books about runaway slaves, but this one has been by far the best. Trouble Don't Last, which received a well-deserved Scott O'Dell Award in 2003, is about young Samuel and elderly Harrison, runaway slaves whose dream is to escape north to "Canaday" from their master in Kentucky. They encounter many colorful characters, such as the "river man", who agrees to ferry them across the Ohio River for a price, and Ham, who is a guide on the Underground Railroad. The book is told from eleven-year-old Samuel's point of view, with his own feelings and dreams. I found it very moving how Samuel expressed his fear of the dark, how he missed Lilly, who acted as his mother, and his mistrust of other people in general, and I am sure that real boys who were in Samuel's position had similar thoughts running through their heads. This is a very exciting and thoughtful book that will give you further insight into the lives of runaway slaves. The book also has an interesting and informative author's note at the end, revealing that much of the book is factual.
Although there were one or two parts of the story which I found unbelievable, this is a book that I think anyone who has an interest in how runaway slaves managed to escape should read.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging and educational--great underground railroad read!
Review: In her author's notes, Shelly Pearsall states that, while the Underground Railroad is a familiar American story, the real heroes of the story, the slaves themselves, are often left in the background. She wanted to write a book that would present the harrowing flight to freedom from the slave's point-of-view. She wanted to ask, "What did they think and feel... What was the journey like? Whom did the runaways trust and whom did they fear?" She succeeded brilliantly.

She chose as her narrator a former slave named Samuel, who recounts his unwilling trek to "CANADAY" as a boy of eleven. Young Samuel was ignorant of anything beyond his experience on his master's farm. Not allowed to read by his masters and kept in his place by the two aging slaves, Lilly and Harrison, who raised him after his mother was sold. Samuel is ignorant and, consequently, fearful. When a fleeing Harrison whisks him off in the middle of the night, Samuel doesn't know what to think. Samuel sees a threat in every shadow and every step he takes is a step further away from the only life he's known. His only desire is to stay out of trouble.

In choosing the adult Samuel as her storyteller, Ms. Pearsall has created a voice that is at once educated and naive. SamuelÃ*s perception of the journey and the people he encounters is the heart of the book�most importantly, his portrayal of the crotchety, perhaps senile, old slave Harrison. The book has an almost Huckelberry Finn quality to it, mostly because of its episodic nature and the variety of "characters" the duo meet on their journey.

For better or worse, the author has toned down the language and dialect of the period keeping the words and dialog well within today's politically acceptable range. While this puts a softer edge on the events portrayed than should be, it does give the book a broader reach into our sometimes-restrictive educational system. In any event, it does not affect the overall value of this volume...

Rating:
Summary: A Wild Adventure and a Learning Experience
Review: Originally, I picked up this book because my daughter had read it and had recommended it. Once I started reading, though, I was sucked in by the realistic characters and the suspenseful story. This is not just a book for kids. "Trouble Don't Last" was not only an exciting adventure story, but I learned quite a bit about what life must have been like for runaway slaves in the 19th century.

Like most people, I learned about slavery and the underground railroad in school, and had always felt like I had a good understanding of that period in US history. But unlike a high school textbook, this story made it easy to put myself in Samuel's place and see things from his perspective. What would it be like to grow up never having seen the world outside my master's plantation? What would it be like to be on the run, never able to truly rest, always worried about being caught?

Shelley Pearsall has written an excellent book that explores these and other issues, all the while keeping us on the edge of our seats. From beginning to end, I could never be sure what would happen next. The style in which the story is told conveys well the feeling of helplessness that so many slaves must have felt. The reality of being out of control of your own destiny, knowing that at any time your life could change for the worst and there was little or nothing you could do about it, must have been an extremely difficult problem to deal with emotionally. In the book we see the ways different characters cope with their oppression, and can't help wondering what we would do if forced to deal with a similar situation.

Anyone who wants to gain a more personal understanding of an important, unfortunate period in the history of the United States should read "Trouble Don't Last."


Rating:
Summary: A Wild Adventure and a Learning Experience
Review: Originally, I picked up this book because my daughter had read it and had recommended it. Once I started reading, though, I was sucked in by the realistic characters and the suspenseful story. Trouble Don't Last was not only an exciting adventure story, but I learned quite a bit about what life must have been like for runaway slaves in the 19th century.

Like most people, I learned about slavery and the underground railroad in school, and had always felt like I had a good understanding of that period in US history. But unlike a high school textbook, this story made it easy to put myself in Samuel's place and see things from his perspective. What would it be like to grow up never having seen the world outside my master's plantation? What would it be like to be on the run, never able to truly rest, always worried about being caught?

Shelley Pearsall has written an excellent book that explores these and other issues, all the while keeping us on the edge of our seats. From beginning to end, I could never be sure what would happen next. The style in which the story is told conveys well the feeling of helplessness that so many slaves must have felt. The reality of being out of control of your own destiny, knowing that at any time your life could change for the worst and there was little or nothing you could do about it, must have been an extremely difficult problem to deal with emotionally. In the book we see the ways different characters cope with their oppression, and can't help wondering what we would do if forced to deal with a similar situation.

Anyone who wants to gain a more personal understanding of an important, unfortunate period in the history of the United States should read Trouble Don't Last.

Rating:
Summary: 2003 Scott O'Dell Award Winner
Review: This great book about Samuel and Harrison and their suspenseful journey to freedom in Canada has been awarded the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction for 2003! A well-deserved award for an exiting book that readers, young and old, will love.

Rating:
Summary: 2003 Scott O'Dell Award Winner
Review: Trouble Don't Last is worthy of a Newbery medal and definitely worth your time to "travel" on the journey with Samuel and Harrison. As the other reviewers have mentioned, this is historical fiction at its best. The book dispels myths about slaves' flight to freedom, but not in a boring or dry way. Instead you learn through this memorable story and the clear voice of young Samuel. This is not sentimentalized history like North by Night or American girl books, but Samuel's hopeful outlook also keeps it from being as graphic/disturbing as The Slave Dancer or Nightjohn. The writing is vivid, and the words have "snap." Young readers will be on the edge of their seats many times as the plot twists and unique characters meet the runaways. The best part is that underneath the "action" are meaningful, thought-provoking questions about prejudice, freedom, trust, family, and altruism.