LS 5603 LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

Review of TROUBLE DON’T LAST

A. Pearsall, Shelly. TROUBLE DON’T LAST. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.

B. BOOK SUMMARY: A tale of the Underground Railroad where a young slave named Samuel is forced to escape plantation life with an elderly slave named Harrison. Samuel wasn’t content in his old life, yet he was. It was all he had ever known and he is a character that would prefer the devil he knows to the devil he is unfamiliar with.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

No one seems to be able to say anything bad about Shelley Pearsall’s debut novel and there is good reason. She has an ear for dialect and the constant dialog uses vivid language which will appeal to young and old readers alike. I would recommend the volume for grades 3-9 but many high schoolers would appreciate it as well. Pearsall never talks down to her readers and gives each character an authentic voice. Throughout the story but especially in the beginning Sam tries and tries to figure what set off Old Harrison to suddenly want his freedom so desperately, after all he is 70 years old. Samuel is prone to trouble and often impulsive and lacking self control. Today he would likely be diagnosed, and probably correctly with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The hiding in the woods with little and no food, the howls of the slave hunter’s dogs, the daily risking of life and limb finally begin to make sense to Samuel as he unwillingly grows close to and fond of Old Harrison. Finally, with their escape into Canada they can begin a new chapter in their lives and learn how free men, both black and white live and the new customs that it affords them.

The historical references are not sugar coated here and the patterns of daily living are examined. The use of a young main character will draw in students. The details are authentic but not so numerous that the story is drowned out. Pearsall never talks down to her audience and strives with much success to have believable characters that children and young adults can empathize with and root for as they struggle to find a new life. It is very obvious why this story earned The Scott O’Dell award. It is just great literature, good plot line, dialog, and characterization. A fresh look at a not uncommon topic of historical fiction.



D, Kirkus Reviews praises the volume, “At fellow slave Harrison's insistence, young Samuel is catapulted into an escape attempt from a Kentucky plantation that has been his whole world. Troublesome Sam has been in the care of elderly Lilly and Harrison since the sale of his mother long ago. Life has been so circumscribed by his condition of slavery that it is hard for him to understand the stakes or even want to succeed. Samuel's naivete is realistic but almost irritatingly persistent as danger mounts. Old man Harrison, whose creative ethics and gritty determination guide them on their way, is increasingly revealed as a complex man, and Samuel gradually gains an understanding of himself and the world around him. The vile nature of slavery is not underplayed as the notion of owning a person clearly creates both horrendous hubris and evil in the owner as well as tremendous pain and suffering of the owned. One of the best underground railroad narratives in recent years, Pearsall's portrayal of both helping and helped are more rounded and complex than the more simplistic view often espoused. Greed, hypocrisy, and sanctimonious paternalism are clearly perceived by the fugitives dependent on these strangers who hold lives in their hands. This succeeds as a suspenseful historical adventure with survival at stake and makes clear that to succeed Harrison and Samuel, as well as others, must never give up even while combating manhunters, bloodhounds, mental illness, disease, hunger, cold, and their own despair.

School Library Journal glows,
“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. 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.”



D. REVIEWS ACCESSED FROM: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780440418115&tabname=custreview&itm=1


E. CONNECTIONS: My favorite author of historical fiction of slave narratives is Julius Lester. Patricia McKissack has also written and illustrated many such stories with her husband.