Our hero, 12-year-old Zeb, is a Tom Sawyer-ish character who's sent far from his woodsy home to work for his Great Uncle in St. Louis. Only he never sees his uncle. Instead, he's recruited mid-trip by a gambler named Chilly who leads him down a path that just gets farther and farther from what Zeb was expecting. He makes friends with a slave named Ho-John, an Indian chief and his daughter (she doesn't have a name, but is just called "the princess"). The story is mostly driven by Zeb's moral development, but there's also a little suspense thrown in when Zeb realizes he's had enough of being Chilly's lackey.

This wasn't poorly written, but I found the voice of Zeb a little cloying. I think the author depended too much on colloquialisms and didn't really put that much into fleshing out his characters or his story. Was it just me or did every character fit pretty neatly into a cultural stereotype?

I did appreciate the afterword that spoke to the historical accuracy of the story, and the glossary that was provided to enlighten confused young readers. ( )

Fun historical fiction that takes place in St. Louis. Be sure to read the dictionary at the end. ( )

This audio book was a free download through AudioFile Magazine as a part of the SYNC Summer Audiobooks Program. Each week for 12 weeks they send out a free download of a YA novel & a Summer Reading Classic pairing. This book was paired with Huckleberry Finn. Set in the mid-1800's, Zeb is sent off on a riverboat down the Mississippi by his parents to be apprenticed as a tanner. However, he meets a riverboat gambler who takes Zeb "under his wing." Zeb first thinks that he is helping the gambler then figures out that he is being taken advantage of, and thereafter tries to get himself out of the situation. This book is written in the style of Huckleberry Finn and in the voice of a 12-yr-old boy, being naive but also with a good set of morals to guide him. This was a good summer read, the audio book is excellent, and a good recommendation for boys or girls, but I think boys would especially appreciate it! ( )

I had some trouble getting into this audiobook & the narration by MacLeod Andrews helped convince me to keep going. While I ended up liking this story more than I expected to at first, I would say that if you want a Mark Twain type story (which this is) then read Mark Twain!

As I was mulling over my thoughts and reactions after finishing, I realized that most of my problems with the beginning of the book stem from one specific I thought didn't ring true: Zeb's parents sending him alone with $70. Seventy dollars in ~1840 was a huge amount of money yet his parents make no attempt to warn to be careful or to watch out for thieves. Zeb himself doesn't seem to consider the money as any sacrifice on their part either. This was pivotal to the plot and since that didn't seem realistic, I was sceptical of the book for quite a while afterwards. I don't recall how old Zeb is supposed to be, but he struck me as pre-teen (12 or so) and I think he is supposed to be a bit older.

On the plus side, I thought that the setting was well done and Helgerson's dialogue was excellent. ( )

Zeb's parents set up an apprenticeship for him that requires him to travel from Illinois to St. Louis. When he gets on the boat, he crosses paths with a riverboat gambler named Chilly. In his naïveté, he hooks up with Chilly to become his apprentice to learn the ways of the gambler. In actuality Chilly is a crook and scamp, working schemes from every direction.
When Zeb finally realizes what he is involved with, he uses information gleaned from Ho-John, a slave at the inn where they live and gamble as well as the chief and princess. Zeb finds his gumption and finds his way out of the comprised situation in which he finds himself. ( )