Blood on the River: James Town 1607 by Elisa Carbone

 

 

 4 stars - Great book 

I discovered Blood on the River: James Town 1607  by Elisa Carbone two years ago and loved reading this book.  I was very happy to see it on the South Carolina Junior Book Award nominee list for this year.  Though this book is classified as fiction, it contains many true events that occurred during the Jamestown settlement. 

The story focuses on eleven- year- old Samuel Collier, a page to Captain John Smith, who decided to travel to the New World.  An orphan who likes to use his fists, Samuel felt like he had nothing to lose by embarking on this journey.  The adventure he encountered, however, was beyond anything he ever could imagine.  You may be thinking…”Oh great…another book about Jamestown.”  This book is very different, however.  The details give the reader insight into other people who were key to the Jamestown settlement, beyond Captain John Smith.  To me, the best part of this book is the view of  Native American culture and daily life.  The book is suspenseful, interesting, and historically accurate.