Title: Blood on the River
Author: Elisa Carbone
Series: Jamestown, book 1
Major Themes: Virginia, Jamestown, Powhatan, Native Americans, John Smith
Synopsis: A boy from the streets of London travels to the New World with John Smith, and learns a lot about life and who he is.
Blood on the River was one of the books I bought on Sonlight Curriculum’s annual clearance sale without knowing the contents. A year or so later, I realized that it was assigned as a reader in the level of Language Arts that one of my children would be working through, although we had an older version which didn’t use it. I decided to read it aloud, instead. I’m glad I did.
Publisher’s description:
Twelve-year-old Samuel Collier is a lowly commoner on the streets of London. So when he becomes the page of Captain John Smith and boards the Susan Constant, bound for the New World, he can’t believe his good fortune. He’s heard that gold washes ashore with every tide. But beginning with the stormy journey and his first contact with the native people, he realizes that the New World is nothing like he imagined. The lush Virginia shore where they establish the colony of James Town is both beautiful and forbidding, and it’s hard to know who’s a friend or foe. As he learns the language of the Algonquian Indians and observes Captain Smith’s wise diplomacy, Samuel begins to see that he can be whomever he wants to be in this new land.
My thoughts:
I have not come across all that many historical fiction books about Jamestown, Virginia. Blood on the River tells the story of John Smith and the early years of the European settlement of Virginia in a vivid way. It wasn’t an easy read; as you can see by the warnings below, there were a number of places where I edited on the fly as I read, and there was a lot of violence. The violence is true to history; if anything, the author didn’t include as much as there actually was. I recommend that this book be previewed by parents before handing it to their children, but it is a great way to learn history.
WARNING: Chapter 2: By God. Chapter 4: Man wants to hurt another man badly, man chained up. Chapter 5: Drying the hand of a dead enemy, mention of cannibalism. Chapter 6: Blasted. Chapter 7: Man describes beating someone to death, mention of cannibalism. Chapter 8: Boys fight, blasted. Chapter 9: Stupid. Chapter 10: Man killed by Indians. Chapter 14: Man burned to death. Chapter 15: “He didn’t get his brains bashed out,” man threatened with gallows. Chapter 16: Description of hangings. Chapter 21: Man dies. Chapter 22: By God. Chapter 23: Men brag about burning house, killing people, and robbing graves. Afterward: Cannibalism, massacre.
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Reading Independently—Ages 10 – 12, 12 – 15
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Library Binding | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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