Trouble Don't Last

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

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. show more 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. show less

Usually the main character is brave and clever. Not Samuel, he is afraid of just about anything, and wants to get back to the only home he knows. Harrison, his elderly companion, is insistent that they get to Canada. Along the way, Samuel learns something about his own family, and begins to think for himself.
Starting from Kentucky in the 1850's, this Young Adult story tells of runaway slaves, the unlikely people who help them on their way, and the pervasive risks involved.

"trouble don't last" is a very moving story about a young slave escaping from Kentucky. Its well written and offers some mystery along with its slave narrative. It shows how the Underground Railroad was not a clear route and how scary it was for slaves trying to escape using the UR.

This is a story about an eleven year old boy named Samuel and his journey to freedom. Set in 1859, Samuel was born into slavery and working the fields is all he has ever known, until one night Old Harrison, a fellow slave, pulls him from his bed and tells him he is running to freedom with him. As the two travel north seeking refuge with people who are part of the Underground Railroad, Samuel begins to realize there is more to life than being a slave and has to come to terms with acceptance of his cruel treatment over the past eleven years. As the journey continues Samuel begins to see hope in freedom.

This book definitely kept me interested and wanting to read it. This is her first book that was published in 2002 and Shelley Pearsall has since written some other books that I am hoping to get to at least a couple of them soon. I enjoyed the book much more than what I thought I would...It took me a little bit to finish the book because I was and am still unpacking and trying to find places for things in the new apartment {as of this post}...But if you enjoy historical fiction, especially around slavery...This book is at least worth picking up and at least taking a look at. Its an "easy read" that shouldn't take long to get through. Once I read the first page, it drew me in. :-)

This book definitely kept me interested and wanting to read it. This is her first book that was published in 2002 and Shelley Pearsall has since written some other books that I am hoping to get to at least a couple of them soon. I enjoyed the book much more than what I thought I would...It took me a little bit to finish the book because I was and am still unpacking and trying to find places for things in the new apartment {as of this post}...But if you enjoy historical fiction, especially around slavery...This book is at least worth picking up and at least taking a look at. Its an "easy read" that shouldn't take long to get through. Once I read the first page, it drew me in. :-)

This book definitely kept me interested and wanting to read it. This is her first book that was published in 2002 and Shelley Pearsall has since written some other books that I am hoping to get to at least a couple of them soon. I enjoyed the book much more than what I thought I would...It took me a little bit to finish the book because I was and am still unpacking and trying to find places for things in the new apartment {as of this post}...But if you enjoy historical fiction, especially around slavery...This book is at least worth picking up and at least taking a look at. Its an "easy read" that shouldn't take long to get through. Once I read the first page, it drew me in. :-)