Trouble Don't Last (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This action-packed, tautly plotted first novel presents a quest for freedom on the Underground Railroad that realistically blends kindness and cruelty. "Trouble follows me like a shadow," begins 11-year-old narrator Samuel. When Harrison, one of the elderly slaves who raised him after the master sold off the boy's mother, decides to run away, Samuel must go with him. "Truth is," Samuel confesses, "even the thought of going straight to Hell didn't scare me as much as the thought of running away." His fears prove justified. Samuel and Harrison's journey thrusts them into uncertainty and peril, and introduces an imaginatively and poignantly rendered cast. Characters include a black man who helps them cross the Ohio River, all the while threatening them with a pistol and a knife if they don't do exactly as he says (he abandons a less cooperative fugitive to certain capture) and a creepy young white widow who converses with her husband's ghost. Throughout, Pearsall seamlessly refers to Samuel's and Harrison's hardships under slavery, creating a sense of lives that extend past the confines of the book. This memorable portrayal of their haphazard, serendipitous and dangerous escape to freedom proves gripping from beginning to end, Ages 9-12.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-Strong characters and an inventive, suspenseful plot distinguish Pearsall's first novel, a story of the Underground Railroad in 1859. Samuel, the 11-year-old slave who narrates the story, is awakened by 70-year-old Harrison, who has decided to flee their tyrannical Kentucky master. The questions that immediately flood the boy's mind provide the tension that propels the novel: What has precipitated the old man's sudden desire for freedom? Why would he risk taking Samuel along? Harrison is mindful of the dangers and wary of trusting even the strangers who might offer help. Samuel, an impulsive boy who seems prone to trouble, is grudgingly accustomed to his life of servitude and reluctant to leave it. As days of hiding and nights of stealthy movement take them farther away from their former lives, Harrison and Samuel forge a bond that strengthens their resolve. Faith, luck, and perseverance see the man and boy safely into Canada, where a new journey-one of self-discovery and self-healing-begins. Pearsall's extensive research is deftly woven into each scene, providing insight into plantation life, 19th-century social mores, religious and cultural norms, and the political turmoil in the years preceding the Civil War. Samuel's narrative preserves the dialect, the innocence, the hope, and even the superstitions of slaves like Harrison and himself, whose path to freedom is filled with kindness and compassion as well as humiliation and scorn. This is a compelling story that will expand young readers' understanding of the Underground Railroad and the individual acts of courage it embraced.

William McLoughlin, Brookside School, Worthington, OH

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (December 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440418119
• ISBN-13: 978-0440418115
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #216,361 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and educational--great underground railroad read!, April 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Trouble Don't Last (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this book and plan to use it in my middle-school classroom next year. It seems a rarity in underground railroad fiction that the narrative is told from the slave's point of view instead of the all-too-common "benevolent white helper family." I think some of my reluctant readers will enjoy this book as the action is fast-paced and each chapter ends at a moment of suspense; students will want to keep reading to find out what happens to Samuel and Harrison, and I anticipate hearing "just one more chapter" more often than not as we read through this educational and engaging book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended by SPECTRUM, March 31, 2002

By	KB Shaw "incwell.com" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trouble Don't Last (Hardcover)

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.

All Spectrum Home & School Magazine recommendations can be found...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trouble Don't Last, January 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Trouble Don't Last (Hardcover)

I think this book is phenomenal because I felt like I was right there with Samuel, on the long and treacherous road to freedom. It made me feel very lucky to be free when I read all of the hardships the main character and his friend, Harrison, went through. If topics like the Underground Railroad interest you, then this is the fast-paced, heart-pounding book for you!