Blood on the River: James Town, 1607

"Wow!" is the most perfect (Algonquian) word to describe this book. We just finished reading this as a family and this book had us in its clutches the entire time. I laughed and I cried reading this, my husband is actually sad it's over, and my kids are begging me to visit Jamestown.This book really takes the story of Jamestown and brings it to life. We read my daughter's history textbook and compared it to what was happening in the "Blood on the River". She was so excited that the book followed so closely with what she was learning. The author does an amazing job of taking the flat history text and weaving a fabulous adventure story out of it. Every chapter was exciting or intense, and it was hard to close the book from one reading to the next.My kids have never been excited about history before but they were so engaged during this story. Afterwards we watched Disney's "Pocahontas" and my daughter was disappointed that the movie was inaccurate and boring compared to the book. She mentioned how John Smith in the movie doesn't help anyone, and in the book all he does is work hard to ensure everyone is housed, fed, and at peace. My son is 8, and he said (about the movie) "well that was embarrassing".I personally really enjoyed the author's tone and ability to add appropiate amounts of humor to it. Also, the way she writes made the story a really smooth read-aloud.I really recommend this book to young and old alike--especially those interested in history. And even for those who don't like history or historical fiction, I dare you NOT to like this one after reading it!!

Needed an extra book for my classroom set and this one was better than the ones we’ve had for years! Great clear font.

WARNING SPOILER ALERT .This book takes place in early American times with a young boy whose mother is dead.He has no choice but to go to the new world as an indentured servant. Turns out the boy's master is actually the super star John Smith! When they come to Jamestown, they are starving; however they are saved by the help of the Indians. This book has a lot of historical facts. However, in the end the plot leaves you at a cliff hanger . I highly recommend this book and I wish the author would write a sequel.

Blood on the River is an historical novel about a boy named Samuel who lived around 400 years ago and is one of the people who went to “The New World'' on the Susan Constant. He was a page to Captain Smith, and had to learn how to survive in the new environment. One thing that I think the author did a really great job on, was making the characters feel real, like you could easily see them thinking and feeling the same things from the book, in real life. I think that in the beginning, the book was hard to enjoy because we hadn't started to really like our character yet. Sometimes he got in fights, or said really mean things to people. Because of that, I think that sensitive kids about seven years old or younger should not read this book. Even though you may find the start unenjoyable I think that this book is worth reading. One reason why is that it gets better! That is why my favorite part was when Sam started to be friends with Richard, and began to understand that they needed to be a team, because it made him seem like a nicer character. My second reason for why this book is worth reading is because even if you don’t enjoy reading about hard times, or different characters, it’s good to see what people really went through back then. Another thing to be aware about is that sometimes it got a little hard to remember everything, like the names. There are a lot of “Captains'' and “Mr.” so you just have to make sure that you're really paying attention. Over all, I think that this was a really great book, and despite the rough beginning, I think that it was worth reading it through.

Ordered this book for my nieces birthday and she loves it!

My granddaughter had to read this book over the summer as preparation for entering 5th grade in September. I bought 2 copies of the book so we could read it out loud together. I normally don't like history and fiction mixed together but this book is different. Every chapter begins with a direct quote from the actual daily journals of the characters in the story. These very specific historical events are then woven in that chapter into quite an adventure that brings history to life. It is particularly fun as the events are retold through the eyes of a pretty tough street kid who works aboard the ship and comes to learn about life, courage, and friendship as he grows into young manhood. My granddaughter loves it--especially the parts about the fistfights and the slop buckets! I love the accurate geographical precision of the story as well as the depiction of the Native Americans whom the settlers encounter in the New World.

My so read this book in his 5th grade class and he loved it. He recommends it for kids his grade level.

My 5th grader was reading this book in school but forgot to take it with us when we went visiting over Thanksgiving. So, I got it for my Kindle so she could keep up with her schoolwork while we were away. I started reading it myself, and got hooked.This is wonderful historical fiction, exciting and based thoughtfully on actual events. My kid is 10 years old, but I would recommend it for kids 11+ (and their parents) unless he or she is a *very* good reader. Come to think of it, it's a great book for parents to read *to* their kids since it will appeal to both.