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A review by tami_provencher
Trouble Don't Last by Shelley Pearsall
4.0
I have recently become a HUGE fan of this author. She writes everything from amazing historical fiction to contemporary fiction, to stories based on current, real-life events. I first became aware of her when her book ALL OF THE ABOVE showed up on the Maud Hart Lovelace Award Nominee list for 2010-11 in Division II (5th -7th grade).
Her first novel was TROUBLE DON’T LAST, which I just finished. It tells the story of Samuel, an 11yr old boy born into slavery in Kentucky. He never knew his mother, as she was sold before he could walk. One night Harrison, the old man who has taken care of him, wakes Samuel and takes him along as they run toward freedom in Canada. The viewpoint throughout the story is Samuel’s. I was drawn into the story by Samuel’s very clear, genuine voice. I could feel his fear, and his horror, his wonder and his sadness amidst deplorable circumstances. Shelley Pearsall says that she felt much had been written about the Underground Railroad, but there were few personal accounts and she tried to capture that in this story. In my opinion she succeeded.
Her first novel was TROUBLE DON’T LAST, which I just finished. It tells the story of Samuel, an 11yr old boy born into slavery in Kentucky. He never knew his mother, as she was sold before he could walk. One night Harrison, the old man who has taken care of him, wakes Samuel and takes him along as they run toward freedom in Canada. The viewpoint throughout the story is Samuel’s. I was drawn into the story by Samuel’s very clear, genuine voice. I could feel his fear, and his horror, his wonder and his sadness amidst deplorable circumstances. Shelley Pearsall says that she felt much had been written about the Underground Railroad, but there were few personal accounts and she tried to capture that in this story. In my opinion she succeeded.