TROUBLE DON’T LAST
by Shelley Pearsall

1. Bibliography:
Pearsall, Shelley. TROUBLE DON’T LAST. 2002. New York: Random House Inc. Dell Yearling Book. ISBN 0440418119


Shelley Pearsall was “born in Ohio, Shelley Pearsall has enjoyed writing and history since childhood. Her first novel, Trouble Don't Last, was published in 2002. It received the 2003 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction among other honors. Her second novel, Crooked River, was named a Junior Library Guild selection in 2005. Shelley's newest novel, All of the Above (Little, Brown & Company, 2006) is an ALA Notable book for 2007.”

http://www.shelleypearsall.com/about.htm


2. Plot Summary
TROUBLE DON’T LAST is historical fiction story of an eleven year old slave boy named Samuel who lived in Kentucky during the time of 1859. He is alone because his mother was sold by his Master Hackler and two slaves named Lilly and Harrison have taken care of the boy. The boy drops a china plate and his punishment is sleeping in the kitchen on the cold floor without blankets and he could not have any supper. Harrison decides to escape from the Master and takes Samuel with him and the suspenseful journey begins as they encounter a variety of individuals who are willing to help them, some cannot be trusted and other’s are strange and frightening. The man and boy are forced to hide, run, they must live in continuous fear, face hardships and hunger, danger as they travel from Kentucky, across Ohio to freedom in Canada by foot and the Underground Railroad. The boy learns many things of Harrison on their journey. Harrison has a secret that is revealed. Harrison’s birth momma was sold, his father was “whipped to death”, one little sister was sold, another little sister was a “wedding gift” and his three brothers were “all put in irons and sold south” while Harrison was sold “north”. The story ends with the slaves reaching their freedom in Canada. “Samuel,” Harrison said, grinning at me. “We done it.” as they look up at the “beautiful free sky.”


3. Critical Analysis

The book received the following awards:

2003 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
2003 Ohioana Library Book Award, Juvenile Fiction
2003 Best Children's Book of the Year (age 9-12) with asterisk for Outstanding Merit, Bank Street College of Education
2002 Editor's Choice by Booklist
2003 Jefferson Cup Honor Book
New York Public Library selection in "Children's Books 2002: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing"
Top Ten First Novels by Booklist
Lasting Connections book by Book Links
Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth by Booklist
http://www.shelleypearsall.com/troubleDontLast.htm

The illustration included in the book displays a map of Samuel and Harrison’s escape and journey from Blue Ash Kentucky, across Ohio to freedom in Chatham Canada.

The text is written with the language used during that time in reference to African Americans such as “colored” and “Negro” and the white slave owners were called “Master” and others were “white folks” The text engages the reader in the setting and time as the slaves run for their freedom. The book is well written and suspenseful from the beginning until the end. It is suggested for ages 9 - 12 older children and adults would also enjoy the book. The description of the transportation and areas they encounter are authentic for the time and setting. The author is passionate in delivering a story that strengthens and makes the reader aware of slavery.

A selected bibliography is included with additional works of slavery and the Underground Railroad of Ohio. A table of contents is included and acknowledgements to the Ohio Arts Council and individuals who assisted in creating the book.

The author’s notes provide clarification of the facts associated with the historical information of slavery and the Underground Railroad. The runaway slaves were forced to hide, ride the railroad, run, cross the river by ferry and additional ways to find freedom. The slaves often carried a supply of food and clothing for the escape. The author includes “I am often asked whether other parts of the novel are factual. The baby buried below the church floor?” A baby whose slave mother brought her to the “whitefolks church” but she could not be saved so she was buried under the floor of the church. “Lung fever?” “Guides named Ham and Eggs?” (Names from records of the Underground Railroad)
“The answer is yes. Most of the events and names used in this novel are real, but they come from many different sources.”

In my opinion, the book is very powerful revealing the cruelty, fear and will to escape and survive slavery. Samuel remembers the stories he has been told of the slaves being lashed with leather and then the open wounds would have salt poured on them and he has seen the scars on Harrison’s back.

4. Review Excerpts
From Publishers Weekly
This action-packed, tautly plotted first novel presents a quest for freedom on the Underground Railroad that realistically blends kindness and cruelty. "Trouble follows me like a shadow," begins 11-year-old narrator Samuel. When Harrison, one of the elderly slaves who raised him after the master sold off the boy's mother, decides to run away, Samuel must go with him. "Truth is," Samuel confesses, "even the thought of going straight to Hell didn't scare me as much as the thought of running away." His fears prove justified. Samuel and Harrison's journey thrusts them into uncertainty and peril, and introduces an imaginatively and poignantly rendered cast. Characters include a black man who helps them cross the Ohio River, all the while threatening them with a pistol and a knife if they don't do exactly as he says (he abandons a less cooperative fugitive to certain capture) and a creepy young white widow who converses with her husband's ghost. Throughout, Pearsall seamlessly refers to Samuel's and Harrison's hardships under slavery, creating a sense of lives that extend past the confines of the book. This memorable portrayal of their haphazard, serendipitous and dangerous escape to freedom proves gripping from beginning to end, Ages 9-12.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-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. The questions that immediately flood the boy's mind provide the tension that propels the novel: What has precipitated the old man's sudden desire for freedom? Why would he risk taking Samuel along? Harrison is mindful of the dangers and wary of trusting even the strangers who might offer help. Samuel, an impulsive boy who seems prone to trouble, is grudgingly accustomed to his life of servitude and reluctant to leave it. As days of hiding and nights of stealthy movement take them farther away from their former lives, Harrison and Samuel forge a bond that strengthens their resolve. Faith, luck, and perseverance see the man and boy safely into Canada, where a new journey-one of self-discovery and self-healing-begins. 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.
William McLoughlin, Brookside School, Worthington, OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Connections: Read the book to the class as an extended unit. Study and discuss slavery and the Underground Railroad. Display maps that show additional areas that Underground Railroads were located. Help the students to understand that there was not one but many of these Railroads that helped many slaves reach freedom. Research and discuss people who helped the slaves and locate additional books on the subject.

Additional works by Shelley Pearsall include:

CROOKED RIVER
ALL OF THE ABOVE