Blood on the River: James Town 1607

By Elisa Carbone
Period: early 1600's Virginia (Jamestown)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Noelle

Samuel Collier is an orphan who is taken to the New World from London with Captain John Smith to help rebuild the English colony of James Town. Samuel doesn't trust anyone and doesn't feel like he needs any friends, but John Smith begins to teach him that it will take everyone working together to make a go of it in the new colony. Through the horrible crossing of the Atlantic to the slow building of homes to the near starvation and sickness, Samuel manages to survive in James Town and learns to work with others. But soon it becomes clear that the most important friends to make are the Powhatan Indians, who number in the thousands, and could help them or massacre them at will. Captain John Smith understands the balance that needs to be struck, and trains Samuel in the Algonquian language, but other colonists are not so understanding. Again and again, the colonists face hardship. And some tribes within the Powhatan like their new neighbors, but others want them gone. Will the Powhatan come to their rescue again? Will a friendship with Pocahontas help save the colony? You may already know the history, but this well-written novel makes it all feel like a firsthand account of survival, betrayal, and learning to work and live together. A good read about the clash of cultures.