A dog, a mountain, and an ancient slave ship are featured in this latest page-turner from a versatile, award-winning author.
Format: 7 CDs, ... read full description
Format: 7 CDs, ... read full description
reviews
May 22, 2008
KT
rated it: 
I've never been a big fan of Gary D. Schmidt, so I hadn't really been expecting to like this book much. But I was immediately drawn in by his beautifully crafted prose and by the drama of the plot, which begins with a car accident and with the main character, Henry Smith, saving a drowning dog when he's out in his kayak on the sea.
Henry and his family seem to have the perfect life. They are well-to-do and live in a beautiful seaside home in Massachusetts that has been in their famil More...
Henry and his family seem to have the perfect life. They are well-to-do and live in a beautiful seaside home in Massachusetts that has been in their famil More...
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Mar 03, 2008
Elizabeth
rated it: 
You know, as a children’s librarian Gary Schmidt gives me no end of (for lack of a better word) trouble. As far as I can tell, he’s probably one of those authors that doesn’t like to begin writing a book by pigeonholing it for a single age group. If I'm right then it would explain why his oeuvre does a funny dance between children’s literature and young adult literature without the author ever fully belonging to one or the other. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy? Children’s historical f
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(2 people liked it)
Jan 16, 2008
Molly
rated it:
Gary Schmidt is probably my favorite children's writer after the venerable Katherine Paterson. I love both of them as phenomenal people, and admire them both madly as writers. So that's a disclaimer of sorts. That said--I didn't love TROUBLE as much as LIZZIE BRIGHT, and I didn't work on this book, so don't have quite the affection for it that I do for THE WEDNESDAY WARS. And I do see a few wee little problems in the narrative. BUT, they hardly matter b/c I think the heart of this book rises far
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Mar 07, 2009
Chris
rated it:
I’ve found that some authors make me feel good about my own abilities as a writer. I read their work, and I think to myself, ‘OK, I’m relatively certain I’m at least in the same league with this and such author.’ No such luck with Gary Schmidt. This guy is an absolute pro.
Trouble is a gritty young adult novel about a teenager whose all-star older brother is struck and killed by a truck apparently driven by a young Cambodian refugee. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Henry sets out on More...
Trouble is a gritty young adult novel about a teenager whose all-star older brother is struck and killed by a truck apparently driven by a young Cambodian refugee. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Henry sets out on More...
Jul 22, 2009
Heather
rated it:
(This is my Amazon review) Another amazing coming-of-age novel from Schmidt, plus SO much more. I can't begin to explain how much I adore this book. I thought Wednesday Wars was near-perfect, but having just finished Trouble, I don't know which one I like better. Schmidt is an amazingly gifted writer. His imagery is so evocative, yet tangible. His characters are accessible, likeable and still complex enough to be real. I am a thirty-something mother of three daughters and found this book to be a
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(1 person liked it)
Jul 20, 2008
Ryan
rated it:
My favorite sentences from this book are:
"He could see pink and white blossoms in nearby orchards, and farther away, the brief yellow of the daffodils, so bright they looked as if Van Gogh had just come from them with his paint-brush still wet in his hand" (pg 108)
"A heart that has lost knows every other heart that has lost" (pg 197)
The first let me see what the author was describing, the second is just a lovely way to say what is true. And More...
"He could see pink and white blossoms in nearby orchards, and farther away, the brief yellow of the daffodils, so bright they looked as if Van Gogh had just come from them with his paint-brush still wet in his hand" (pg 108)
"A heart that has lost knows every other heart that has lost" (pg 197)
The first let me see what the author was describing, the second is just a lovely way to say what is true. And More...
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Apr 26, 2008
Carter
rated it: 
First off, I really enjoyed this book. I want to make sure you know this before you read my comments.
The premise for the book was solid. Henry and Sanborn's relationship cracked me up. I loved picturing these two guys wail on each other throughout the book. There was an emotional resonance that I connected with from almost the first page, and it carried out to the very end. Also, there was a beautiful sense of imagery and I liked how it deepened the character's connections to the bo More...
The premise for the book was solid. Henry and Sanborn's relationship cracked me up. I loved picturing these two guys wail on each other throughout the book. There was an emotional resonance that I connected with from almost the first page, and it carried out to the very end. Also, there was a beautiful sense of imagery and I liked how it deepened the character's connections to the bo More...
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Dec 31, 2008
Laura
rated it: 
I've spoken with my Middle School students about books like this, those written as contemporary fiction but set in the near-past (eg, my lifetime). Any book written/set in the 60s-90s isn't historical enough unless there's a real need to use the past (like, talking about the Vietnam War or Woodstock). Just "because" doesn't interest them. Kids without cellphones or video games or computers seem unreal, and they just don't care.
This book could have, very easily, been writt More...
This book could have, very easily, been writt More...
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Jan 10, 2009
Michele
rated it:
This book was a huge disappointment to me. I loved Lizzie Bright<i/> and The Wednesday Wars<i/>, so I had high expections for Schmidt's book. The ending was a bit predictable.
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Apr 19, 2008
Jamie
rated it:
This book went from 2 stars to 3 stars just because I still think that Gary Schmidt is a masterful writer.
But this story starts out sloooooow, with long descriptions of small New England towns, and houses, that seem quiety adult. There are changes of narrator that confuse, and overdone metaphors (the titular one, for example) and some clunky racists that seem to have no reason for being that way. And Henry figures everything out with no clues that I can see (we the reader to get clu More...
But this story starts out sloooooow, with long descriptions of small New England towns, and houses, that seem quiety adult. There are changes of narrator that confuse, and overdone metaphors (the titular one, for example) and some clunky racists that seem to have no reason for being that way. And Henry figures everything out with no clues that I can see (we the reader to get clu More...
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Feb 18, 2008
Susan
rated it:
I thought this was a powerhouse of a book, and it was one of the best books I've read in a long time. I wasn't quite sure where the author was taking me... but was very glad to have made the journey when I reached the end.
This was the first book I've read by Gary Schmidt, so I didn't have any expectations.
After you finish the book, go back and read the italic sections at the end of each chapter. they'll make a lot more sense. It's a bit early to say this... but I'm predic More...
This was the first book I've read by Gary Schmidt, so I didn't have any expectations.
After you finish the book, go back and read the italic sections at the end of each chapter. they'll make a lot more sense. It's a bit early to say this... but I'm predic More...
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Oct 30, 2011
Krisanne
rated it:
Once in a while a book just wrecks me. This was one of them.
There are so many lessons to be learned and discussed from this book.
Henry's brother gets hit by a Cambodian schoolmate's truck in the very beginning of the book. Henry's family is picture perfect and the comotose brother is the perfect son. Until the picture starts to fade and peel a little bit. Thank goodness Henry saves a drowning dog (Black Dog) whose love actually saves Henry and buoys him in his time of ne More...
There are so many lessons to be learned and discussed from this book.
Henry's brother gets hit by a Cambodian schoolmate's truck in the very beginning of the book. Henry's family is picture perfect and the comotose brother is the perfect son. Until the picture starts to fade and peel a little bit. Thank goodness Henry saves a drowning dog (Black Dog) whose love actually saves Henry and buoys him in his time of ne More...
Jul 27, 2011
Knitme23
rated it:
Wow! This YA novel was the Island Readers and Writers choice for 8th graders in my district this year, and I reluctantly thought I should read it so I'd know what had been inflicted on my students before I got them. . . . but WOW! This novel is gripping, well-written, original, heart-wrenching, topical, universal and funny--all at once. It has a great dog character, religion that is depicted as neither vapid nor harmful, a realistic but nuanced boy friendship, and an understated narrative voice
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Dec 14, 2010
Barky
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 30, 2010
Saundra
rated it:
Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt Death/Racism/Pain/Friendship
I absolutely loved this book. It was so good. Not only was it put together and written amazingly well, there were a lot of layers and complex relationships that kept me intrigued. Henry's family seems to be perfectly situated in life. His father has an excellent job as a lawyer in a big firm, his mother is loving and always there, his older brother is the local all-American hero, and his sister is kind and beautiful. Henry More...
I absolutely loved this book. It was so good. Not only was it put together and written amazingly well, there were a lot of layers and complex relationships that kept me intrigued. Henry's family seems to be perfectly situated in life. His father has an excellent job as a lawyer in a big firm, his mother is loving and always there, his older brother is the local all-American hero, and his sister is kind and beautiful. Henry More...
Sep 23, 2010
Madigan
rated it:
I got the impression this was supposed to take place in the late 70's, or possibly early 80's. I'd heard that the story takes place in Maine and deals with Cambodian immigration. Having grown up in Maine around Cambodian refugees myself, that was enough to hook me right there. It's not terribly often that Maine shows up as a locale (One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey, aside) in children's books so I was interested to see what Schmidt would have to say about it, and how the audiobook reader
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Jun 14, 2010
Abby
rated it:
As a middle school student growing up with his loving, privileged family in a wealthy enclave of a small New England town, Henry has managed to keep far away from Trouble. But then his beloved older brother Franklin is gravely injured in a car accident, and Trouble comes calling: Henry's once-close family starts to disintegrate, and Henry decides to undertake a quite Trouble-some journey to climb Mt. Katahdin and fulfill an unspoken promise to his brother, during which his path crosses with the
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Apr 28, 2010
M.
rated it:
2011 Rebecca Caudill nominee—very different type of book. Henry’s father has always told him, “Build your house far from trouble and trouble won’t be able to find you.” Only trouble does find Henry and his family. Descended from Mayflower pilgrims, the family is wealthy and influential, but more or less unassuming and Henry isn’t conscious of the privileged life he leads until his brother Franklin is hit by a car apparently driven by a young, Cambodian immigrant. The town erupts against the
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Mar 13, 2010
Hilary
rated it:
Henry's father has always said that if you build your house far enough away from trouble it won't find you. Henry always thought that their house had been built far enough away from trouble, but it turns out that he was wrong. Trouble manages to find them anyway, in the form of Chay, a Cambodian immigrant, who accidentally hits Henry's older brother, Franklin, with his pick up truck. Franklin, who has always seemed strong and invincible is now deteriorating in a coma in the hospital while Cha
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Nov 08, 2009
Mary
rated it:
Henry Smith is the youngest child in a privileged old New England family. His life up until middle school has been trouble-free, with his most difficult challenge being to live up to the formidable reputation of his lacrosse star older brother Franklin. His older sister Louisa is also a gifted athlete. However, when Franklin is hit by Chay Chuan's pickup truck as he runs one night, leaving him critically injured, trouble finds Henry in a variety of ways. He rescues a starving, beaten and drownin
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Dec 21, 2011
Amy
rated it:
This book is absolutely fantastic. It is very grave and thematically rich. It's about friendship, guilt, redemption, personal loss, racial prejudice, strength and much more. I liked "Wednesday Wars," but it's a comic strip compared with this book. I love the characters, especially Black Dog. She seemed to add so much to every scene. I especially liked the first scene where Henry's father meets Black Dog. He is torn between his feelings of wanting the dog out of the house and the
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Dec 05, 2008
Wendy
rated it:
This is the first Schmidt I've read. I feel not quite smart because I wasn't crazy about it; there were definitely things I liked about this book, and things I think were done well (all the family interactions, in particular), but overall it felt heavy handed and often obvious. I disliked the ending scenes--I was freaking out on a medical level, and I also don't know how they could DO that to their parents after everything else, which made me grumpy about characterizations. I don't have any p
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Sep 04, 2011
Josiah
rated it:
Gary D. Schmidt is a marvel. Every one of his novels, at least inasmuch as I can tell by this point, is so elegantly plotted and emotionally important and potent that it would appear as if he must never have a day when he's off his best writing game. All of his books seem to be works of art as surely a Picasso or Van Gogh painting, and I have to admit that I don't know how he does it so consistently. His mind's powers of creative output shoot around out there in an entirely different orbit, o
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Sep 28, 2010
Jessica
rated it:
REQUIRED- SCHMIDT
Henry is a fourteen-year-old boy living in Massachusetts. His older brother, Franklin is hit in a car accident early in the book. Franklin lost his left arm, and stayed in the hospital with a coma. The driver was a Cambodian and one of Franklin's schoolmates at the high school. Henry, his best friend, and his dog go on a trip to climb Mount Katahdin. Henry sees the trip as his chance to finally become a peer or equal in Franklin's eyes.
This book dealt a lot wi More...
Henry is a fourteen-year-old boy living in Massachusetts. His older brother, Franklin is hit in a car accident early in the book. Franklin lost his left arm, and stayed in the hospital with a coma. The driver was a Cambodian and one of Franklin's schoolmates at the high school. Henry, his best friend, and his dog go on a trip to climb Mount Katahdin. Henry sees the trip as his chance to finally become a peer or equal in Franklin's eyes.
This book dealt a lot wi More...
Aug 02, 2010
Jill
rated it:
This is my front-runner for the 2011 Caudill list! I can guarantee that it will not win the kids' vote, but it would get mine, for sure.
This was a Young Adult book, which is not what I usually read. I could tell from the first page that it was heavier than what I am used to, much more sophisticated and mature than my other books, and more "cutting-edge" as well.
The book sounded extremely lame - some kid wants to climb a mountain because it's his brother's dying More...
This was a Young Adult book, which is not what I usually read. I could tell from the first page that it was heavier than what I am used to, much more sophisticated and mature than my other books, and more "cutting-edge" as well.
The book sounded extremely lame - some kid wants to climb a mountain because it's his brother's dying More...
Dec 10, 2008
Jean
rated it:
This book has been sitting in my "to read" pile for months. I put off reading it because I knew when I started it that I would probably not be able to rest until I finished it. And I would not want it to end.
I think Gary Schmidt is one of the finest writers producing books for upper elementary/middle school readers today. I've loved reading his descriptions, have turned myself around in his plots and have ended each book with the urge to pick it up and start it all over agai More...
I think Gary Schmidt is one of the finest writers producing books for upper elementary/middle school readers today. I've loved reading his descriptions, have turned myself around in his plots and have ended each book with the urge to pick it up and start it all over agai More...
Mar 29, 2011
Joyce
rated it:
According to Henry Smith's father, "if you build your house far enough away from trouble, then trouble will never find you". But trouble does find the Smith family, starting on the evening of Henry's 14th birthday celebration. On that night his older brother Franklin is hit by a pickup truck while he's running alongside a road. A Cambodian student in Franklin's school is charged with driving the truck, which brings out racial prejudices in their small coastal town. Henry is devastate
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Jun 30, 2010
Cornmaven
rated it:
Despite the simple language format and the characters' ages, this is a very complex book - upper HS and adult due to the thematic level and use of metaphor that requires knowledge of history and life experience.
Trouble is a character, i.e. the problems Life throws at us. And in this novel, the problems are huge. It's about forgiveness of neighbor, acceptance of life's problems and, well, LOVE. Trouble is a metaphor, as is the dog. I loved the whole image of trying to build your hou More...
Trouble is a character, i.e. the problems Life throws at us. And in this novel, the problems are huge. It's about forgiveness of neighbor, acceptance of life's problems and, well, LOVE. Trouble is a metaphor, as is the dog. I loved the whole image of trying to build your hou More...
Dec 09, 2010
Danielle
rated it:
Genre: Fictional Drama
In this contemporary fictional drama, Henry's Father tells him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, it will never find you. However, Trouble does find them in the form of Henry's older brother Franklin getting hit by a car. The story deals with issues of racism as a Cambodian immigrant named Chay is believed to have been the one who hit Franklin. Henry eventually learns that Trouble is inevitable, forcing him to face it and learn how to deal More...
In this contemporary fictional drama, Henry's Father tells him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, it will never find you. However, Trouble does find them in the form of Henry's older brother Franklin getting hit by a car. The story deals with issues of racism as a Cambodian immigrant named Chay is believed to have been the one who hit Franklin. Henry eventually learns that Trouble is inevitable, forcing him to face it and learn how to deal More...
Jun 03, 2009
Additeenlibrarian
rated it:
I must admit, I love Gary D. Schmidt's writing style. Which made me biased to this book even before I read it. It turned out to be an amazing and original story.
Set in New England, where the families have been around for a long time, this story tells what happens when Chay, one of the recent Cambodian immigrants to this old-family/old-money area, hits Franklin, the son of one of the oldest families, with his truck. Societal trouble flares up and all of the anger, dislike, and resentment o More...
Set in New England, where the families have been around for a long time, this story tells what happens when Chay, one of the recent Cambodian immigrants to this old-family/old-money area, hits Franklin, the son of one of the oldest families, with his truck. Societal trouble flares up and all of the anger, dislike, and resentment o More...
