Blood on the River: James Town, 1607

The story of the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown is told from the point of view of twelve-year old Samuel Collier who serves as a page to Captain John Smith. The harsh circumstances of the journey and settlement, the controversial character of John Smith, and the relationships with

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the native Americans are seen through the eyes of the young Samuel.

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The story of what happened when John Smith and his crew arrived in the New World. How they survived attacks by natives, made friends with Natives through Sacajawea, lived through the freezing winter with little food, and more.

Details about the trip to America and the hardships.

A meticulously researched historical novel, Blood on the River really takes you back to 1607, to the sights, sounds, and smells of Jamestown. Although it was a bit slow at first, once the colonists got to America and began interacting with the local Indian tribes, I found it fascinating. Reading

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Carbone's copious author's note, I learned that all the main characters in the story were real people. The events in the story are based on actual events. This won't be a book for everyone, but it would make an excellent companion novel to any kind of study about Jamestown or Virginian Native Americans. I think young history buffs could also get into it, too. It's not a novel to be breezed through, but one to savor so you can soak up all those rich details that the author paid so much attention to.

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The novel takes place during the settlement of Jamestown and is from the viewpoint of a boy who is chosen to serve Captain John Smith. I enjoyed the historical aspect of the novel and the strong character of the young boy.

It's a great historical fiction on some of the first explors coming the Canda and the United States of America.

i thought the book was good but it was slow.

An excellent historical fiction account that will bring Jamestown to life for readers in a way that I've never seen done before about such a period of time.

good book lots of facts

It is 1606, and Samuel Collier is an eleven-year-old orphan. His father had drunk himself to death, and his mother died in the poorhouse. Upon his mother’s death, her locket was taken to a pawn shop to fetch a little money to cover Samuel’s food. However, Sam runs away from the poorhouse, lives

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on the streets, and then steals the locket but is caught and turned over to a minister named Hunt who runs an orphanage. It just so happens that Mr. Hunt is accompanying a Virginia Company expedition to establish a settlement in the New World, and he offers Samuel the opportunity to become the page for Captain John Smith. This historical fiction book chronicles the first couple of years in the history of Jamestown through the eyes of young Samuel Collier. The question is, will he survive?

Author Elisa Carbone, who grew up in Virginia, has written several other books of historical fiction for young people about the region. Her Stealing Freedom (1998), based on a true story of a young Maryland slave girl’s harrowing escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad around 1855, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and her Storm Warriors(2001), about racial prejudice against the African American surfmen of the U.S. Lifesaving Service on Pea Island off the North Carolina shore in 1895, won Virginia’s 2002 Jefferson Cup Award. When I saw Blood on the River on sale in a discount book store and noticed that it was historical fiction for young people about Jamestown, I immediately picked it up.
The author evidently did a lot of detailed research to present a very accurate picture of the Jamestown colony and what happened there.

She writes, “Though in some instances the dialogue is taken from the original records, for the most part I have invented dialogue, thoughts, personalities, and the like. And I have simplified a story that is far too complex to be contained in one book.” Samuel Collier was a real person, though Carbone says that she had to invent his family life and origins. He did accompany Captain Smith on two expeditions, was left to live at a Warraskoyack village for a time, stayed in Virginia when Smith returned to England, and when he grew up was appointed the leader of a Virginia town. There are a few references to drinking ale and wine and a couple of instances where people were said to be completely naked in public. Also, the terms “by God” and “my Lord” are each used once as an interjection. And Sam does a little bit of lying, especially towards the beginning, although he does learn to accept responsibility as he works with John Smith. Otherwise, this is a very well-written and interesting historical fiction account of the Jamestown story for middle and high school students.

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Blood on the River was a fantastic book, with a lot of adventure. This boy named Samuel Collier, set sail with a group of people to a new world, and while they do, they bump into these Indians. These Indians greet them and give them a welcome basket, but these Sam and the group may not know what

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they could get themselves into.
I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in the 1600s. Blood on the River is probably one of my favorite books I have read. I would re read this book over and over again. I bet ever person that reads Blood on the River will re read it over and over. This book will get you so intrigued that you won't want to put the book down ever.

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Blood on the River: James Town 1607 by Elisa Carbone is a rich and intriguing historical fiction book about one of the first settlements in the New World. I liked seeing the way the story showed us what this new settlement meant for the native people and the settlers. This book really brought the

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scene to life and, after reading the author’s note, it was interesting to learn that the characters mentioned in the story are true to history. Anyone who enjoys reading about history will enjoy this book. It would be a challenging book for most kids that are younger than fifth grade, but if they are interested in the time period and they read it with an adult, they will probably be as fascinated as I was. Samuel really grew throughout the story and it was great to see the lessons he learned. This would be a wonderful read for people who are interested in seeing the start of our nation unfold before them. A book you will learn from!

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