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Blood on the River: James Town, 1607 By Elisa Carbone ( Puffin )
Release Date: 2007-09-20
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $6.99
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Product Description
Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it’s hard to know who’s a friend or foe. As he learns the language of the Algonquian Indians and observes Captain Smith’s wise diplomacy, Samuel begins to see that he can be whomever he wants to be in this new land.
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 Attention all middle school students
Blood on the River is one of the greatest books I have ever read. This is the best book Elisa Carbone has ever written. Normally, I do not care for historical fiction, but this time I was pleasantly suprised. In this book, there is a boy named Samuel Collier. In the beginning of the book, Samuel is about 11 years of age. For a couple of years he has been growing up in the poverty of England, on his own. He is sad that his mother is dead and decides he is going to steal her necklace back. He gets caught and sent to an orphanage. He is a troublemaker there too. He is going to be sent to a land that is being explored. Along the voyage, he meets James, a very easily scared kid, and Richard, a very nice kid who will stand up for almost anyone. Both James and Richard help Samuel figure out that he needs to be more courteous to people. During the time Samuel is at the new land, he is taught many things by a man named John Smith. One of the most important things he is taught is that in order to survive everyone must help each other, or everyone loses. In this book, there are also wars with Native Americans, and almost wars with the explorers fighting each other. Not all conflicts are resolved quickly or at all. Blood on the River is a compelling story with action, adventure, history, and friendship. This book is intended for middle schoolers and up, but if you can't quite read at that level it is worth the wait to understand it. If you are looking for a good book that will always keep your attention, I would recommend this book for you.
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Interesting, but...
I love historical fiction, and I just happened to see this book at my daughters book fair at school, so I thought I'd give it a try. I like how historical fiction, in general, brings alive different periods in history, and this book is no exception. I haven't studied Jamestown all that much, but based on my memory from school, and the quotes at the start of each chapter from original sources, is sounds like this is a tale of fiction woven through real (accurate?) history. That said, I did have one problem with this book, and that was with the style of writing. I have never read a book written in this style before, except the Dick and Jane books when I was a kid. It is written in short bursts, and I felt like I was being pelted with sentences, instead of reading a flowing narrative. Granted, this book is aimed at children, but the subject matter makes me think it is aimed at older children, not 1st graders. It does not shy away from the reality that was, and so is not really fit for the very young... yet, I am confused as to why it is written in this style. Each time I sat down to read more of it, the style was the first thing I noticed, and I had to read on to get past it. It took a page, maybe two, each time, before I didn't notice the writing style so much and was able to get into the story.
I saw another review here that asked if this story needed to be told. I say, why not? It gives quite a vivid picture of life in Jamestown and the story is very interesting. It was as if I had a visit there via a time machine... and after all, isn't that what this genre is all about?
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It captured my sons attention
Out of all of the books he had to read for classes, this is the one that stands out to him and he wanted it to re-read and to pass on to his son.
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 Great read.
This is a great book. Perfect for our unit study about the First landing. It's addictive for me as an adult, but easy-enough for my 4th grader to read it and enjoy also. I'm excited to use this when school starts again.
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Historical Fiction At Its Best
Blood on the River brought the Jamestown experience to life for my students. The use of primary sources to begin each chapter helped them to see exactly how historical fiction is created. In this case, each chapter was based on actual letters or excerpts from books from the early 1600s.
The young Sam Collier is believable, and we rooted for him throughout the story. My hope is that the descriptions of his adventures will remain in the minds of my students long after the lessons from their Social Studies text book do!
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