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Black Duck

Janet Taylor Lisle

3.73 · Rating details · 2,720 ratings · 357 reviews

When Ruben and Jed find the dead body on the Rhode Island shore, they are certain it has something to do with smuggling liquor. It is the 1920’s, Prohibition is in full swing, and almost everyone in the shore community is involved. Suddenly, the boys find themselves involved as well: Didn’t the dead man have something on him, and didn’t they take it? It isn’t long before R ...more

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Hardcover, 240 pages

Published May 18th 2006 by Philomel

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Average rating 3.73 ·

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· 2,720 ratings · 357 reviews

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May 28, 2015 Jeanette rated it liked it

Easy read. Childish view of rum running during Prohibition. It moves along as the young people's thoughts and escapades make for a personality filled story (although told by an oldster an entire lifetime later). And the writing itself has a solid locale feel and doesn't suffer from the jumpiness in transitions that these "through young eyes" plots normally have. But it wasn't compelling and lacked layers of depth that these cabals usually suggest which would make it a higher star form of histori ...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Jeannie rated it liked it

The story, about "rumrunners" off the coast of Rhode Island, moved along fairly well. I thought it lagged in a few spots, but still it is a good, fast read. The target age group surprised me a bit. I'm not really comfortable with the "good guys" being the law breakers and the "bad guy" being someone who wanted to follow the law with the 6th grade-ish group. However, the characters are well done and the book does provide some thought provoking ideas about the age of prohibition. ...more

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Feb 06, 2009 Arminzerella rated it liked it

Shelves: juvenile-fiction, historical-fiction, realistic, borrowed-from-the-library, books-for-boys, suspense-thriller, 2009-caudill-nominees, 1920s, prohibition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ruben and Jeddy find a dead body down by the shore one day. When they tell Jeddy’s dad (the chief of police), he goes down to investigate, but finds nothing – the body is missing. Later, Ruben learns that the man they found was a liquor smuggler who had been liquidated by a more powerful syndicate from the big city. It’s 1929 and it’s illegal to make, sell, or drink alcohol (Prohibition), but a great deal of money can be made from doing all of these things on the sly. It seems like all of the pe Ruben and Jeddy find a dead body down by the shore one day. When they tell Jeddy’s dad (the chief of police), he goes down to investigate, but finds nothing – the body is missing. Later, Ruben learns that the man they found was a liquor smuggler who had been liquidated by a more powerful syndicate from the big city. It’s 1929 and it’s illegal to make, sell, or drink alcohol (Prohibition), but a great deal of money can be made from doing all of these things on the sly. It seems like all of the people in town are somehow involved in bootlegging – if they’re not actively moving alcohol, then they’re being paid off to keep their mouths shut. During this time, Ruben and Jeddy start drifting apart – Ruben’s getting more involved working at his dad’s store, and Jeddy’s dad has him working at a chicken farm (mostly to keep him away from Ruben). So, when Ruben is kidnapped by some bootleggers, who are convinced that he has something that they want, Jeddy doesn’t even know about it. And when Ruben has to disappear for a few weeks to avoid the syndicates, Jeddy believes he’s visiting relatives.

Both boys miss their friendship, but feel that they have to be loyal to their fathers and what they stand for. Jeddy’s under the impression that his dad is on the right side of the law, that as the police chief, he’s responsible for catching the bad guys (the smugglers), but the whole time he’s taking money to turn a blind eye to what’s transpiring in his jurisdiction. Ruben’s father works for the local grocery store, whose owner is a major player in the bootlegging business. He’s struggling to stay honest and to keep the bootleggers out of his life, but it becomes more and more difficult for him – especially when the owner is arrested and he has to take on more responsibility.

Things come to a head one night – Ruben decides to go out on the Black Duck (the famous bootlegger vessel) and help the crew, just this one time – and the Coast Guard gets tipped off by someone who describes himself as “the chief of police.” They shoot everyone on board the Black Duck – Ruben only escapes because he manages to hide in one of the lifeboats. There’s a huge scandal over the shootings, with people speculating that the Coast Guard never gave the smugglers a warning, and never gave them the opportunity to surrender, before gunning them down. Prohibition comes to an end shortly thereafter, but Jeddy’s and Ruben’s lives are changed forever by the incidents of that night.

This was a great inside look at what went on during Prohibition – bootlegging was a big problem and people were making money hand over fist breaking it. Prohibition was repealed partly because of protests and the realization that enforcing it was doing more damage to people than drinking and drunkenness. The story is told in Ruben’s words, but as a sort of flashback, as he describes the events that took place to a high school freshman “reporter” that becomes interested in the bootlegging history of his town. I’m not sure that the packaging is necessary, although there are a couple revelations at the very end (Ruben marries the girl of his dreams, and we find out that Jeddy made the tip-off call – neither of these is absolutely necessary) that wrap things up nicely. This is just a minor complaint/quibble and I only mention it because every time Ruben took a break from talking to the reporter, it also wrenched me out of the story. Maybe an epilogue would have worked just as well? Other than that, this was quite suspenseful and engaging (plus I learned all sorts of things I never knew about Prohibition). ...more

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Feb 10, 2008 Abby Johnson rated it liked it

When Ruben and his best friend Jeddy find a dead body on the beach in 1929, their lives change forever. A weird reaction from the local law enforcement causes Ruben to give the body some thought and he eventually discovers that the dead man was an infamous rum runner. During this time of Prohibition, rum runners bought booze from Canada or the West Indies and smuggled it into the country. Because the ships had to anchor in international waters, rum runners would load up small boats with the liqu ...more

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Feb 03, 2016 Chase Miller rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 17, 2012 Mr. Holt rated it really liked it

Shelves: sixth-grade-books-read

After a slow and boring start, "The Black Duck" transformed itself into a novel of worth. The book told the story of rum running in a small New England coastal town in 1929 during the Prohibition era. The Black Duck was an elusive rum running boat that would bring the illegal alcohol from freighters to the shore to be transported to other spots around the countryside and sold for a pretty penny. The main character, Ruben Hart, tells his adventure and involvement in the rum running business to a ...more

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Jul 17, 2008 Andy rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: boys, Tom Sawyer wannabees,

Recommended to Andy by: Texas Lone Star list

David wants to become a journalist, not part of his family's landscaping business. All he needs is one great story to prove that he has what it takes to be a good writer, and maybe then he'll be hired as a news reporter.

He finds an old man who was alive during the days of the Prohibition. From this point, the novel becomes the old man's story, and David's story becomes a thinly applied series of intermissions.

This is a great novel. I really enjoyed it. A neat historical fiction book to pick up f ...more

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Feb 20, 2008 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: children-young-adult

***kids book This historical fiction novel was a great read. It was presented as a story an old man was telling a young man in present day. It presented a mystery of sorts, while imparting the history of the U.S. during prohibition. It challenged the reader to think about how people were pulled in to participate in "rum running" even though they were against it and the mob that ran things--including the main characters dad, his best friend and the best friends dad--- the sheriff. It was during t ...more

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Feb 05, 2010 Art rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: anyone interested in Prohibition

Recommended to Art by: Susan Bush

Shelves: prohibition-new-england

Black Duck story of slaughter of rumrunners by Reneagade Coast Guard Captian.
Life during Prohibition remainds me of what people are having to deal with today about certain issues.
Does one provide for one's family and everything is black and white or does one look for the gray in life during troubling events. ...more

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Jan 03, 2014 BookGirl rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, ya, mystery

Wow, this book was great. The characters were memorable and the storyline builds up till the end that will keep you turning the pages for more. It’s the first prohibition era book I’ve read and will not be the last. Overall I recommend this to anyone interested in historical fiction and mystery tied into one. You will not be disappointed.

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May 20, 2013 Kevin Tejada rated it really liked it

It was a great book that i whanted to read after the 50th page i got interested and actually finished it.and i recommended to people that like a good book.and it was mostly about two kids that go truw an experience of there life

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May 07, 2007 Suzanne rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: YA, Adult

Shelves: youngadult-fiction, historical-fiction

Action-packed tale of the rum runners during Prohibition. Loved it. The author paced the story very well, letting it unfold in its own time. One of my favorites of 2006.

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Sep 24, 2013 B.A. Wilson rated it liked it

Shelves: mg, mystery

This is a good mystery. It is a bit slow at times in the middle, but the ending is full of action and excitement. Press through the slow parts, and I believe you will enjoy this book overall.

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Mar 28, 2017 Shravan sreenivasan added it

I love the way it keeps you suspense the whole way

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Jan 20, 2018 Brendon rated it it was amazing

Great Book. Extremely exciting. The time changes and how the story was written really helped to tell the story in one character perspective with a great understanding.

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Mar 29, 2018 Keeley rated it it was amazing

An entertaining glimpse into Prohibition; I couldn’t put it down!

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Jul 19, 2019 Jenna rated it liked it · review of another edition

This was a historical fiction for the YA audience.
It was a good way to introduce the prohibition era thru some teen boys having an adventure/mystery surrounding the liquor smugglers.

The mystery was interesting & it moves at a good pace.
Quick, short read or listen (I did it on audio).

FYI: there is some violence and I did find it a bit bittersweet as Jeddy & Ruben’s friendship was dissolving.

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Nov 12, 2018 Sam Clark rated it really liked it

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Jun 01, 2019 Ms. B rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, 2019, historical-fiction

The end of the roaring 20s; the age of bootlegging. Was it all fun and games, hijinks and deringing? When David decides to interview Reuben an older gentleman who was a teen during the bootlegging years for his school's newspaper, he learns there was nothing fun nor adventurous about it. (view spoiler) ...more

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Jul 15, 2013 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

18 June 2006 BLACK DUCK by Janet Taylor Lisle, Philomel Sleuth, May 2006, ISBN: 0-399-23963-4

"Money it's a crime
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie
Money so they say
Is the root of all evil today"
--Pink Floyd

"It's odd how a shocking sight can shake your mind so you don't at first register the whole, just the small, almost comical details. Like the hand complete with fancy gold wristwatch, wedding band and neatly clipped fingernails we saw bobbing on the water's surface as we came to ...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Becky rated it it was amazing

Genre: Junior – historical fiction

Summary – A thrilling tale told of rumrunners during the Prohibition in Rhode Island by an old man, Mr. Hart, to a teenage, aspiring author, David Peterson. Based on the author’s hometown, it revolves around a set of newspaper articles which are not exactly full of the truth. As young David makes time to visit and listen to Mr. Hart, he impatiently waits for him to reveal the suspenseful truth about two boys, named Jeddy and Ruben, who discover a corpse floating Genre: Junior – historical fiction

Summary – A thrilling tale told of rumrunners during the Prohibition in Rhode Island by an old man, Mr. Hart, to a teenage, aspiring author, David Peterson. Based on the author’s hometown, it revolves around a set of newspaper articles which are not exactly full of the truth. As young David makes time to visit and listen to Mr. Hart, he impatiently waits for him to reveal the suspenseful truth about two boys, named Jeddy and Ruben, who discover a corpse floating in the waters of Coulter Beach one blustery day. The suspense of determining who the body is and why so many respected townspeople are involved keeps David returning day after day.

Literary Critique: (a.) Setting
(b.) The setting of Black Duck is late 1920’s, Prohibition Era, along the beaches of Rhode Island. The author bases the book on the actual Black Duck boat used to run rum in her local area back in the 1920’s. Her use of facts from her local history lends relevancy and believability to the novel.
(c.) The book is organized around a set of newspaper articles. Each new section begins with a new article. The article reveals that 3 rumrunners have been killed; the locals are in an uproar claiming that the men were not given fair warning. The coast guard is declaring they warned and then shot the men aboard; it is suspected that the coast guard actually set a trap and waited and then shot them all. On page 1 lies the first article entitled, “Coast Guards Kill Three Suspected Rum Runners.” The byline reads, “Fire on Unarmed Speedboat Black Duck with Large Cargo of Liquor.” At the top of the article is the line, “Newport Daily Journal, December 30, 1929.” Because of the statement of the title and date of the article, the reader believes that this is an actual article. When I researched whether these were actual articles, I could find no evidence. The author’s notes never tell us if they are real, only that the event did happen. I found a NY Times article about Charles Travers, the real skipper of the Black Duck, and it closely matched the article in the book.
The book lends insight into how rum-running works. Huge vessels from Canada wait off the shore at a great distance in the legal international waters zone (p. 100-101), then smaller boats unload and take the crates of alcohol to shore in speedboats. The boat’s skipper displays a sign to the captain of the large vessel, such as a matching half to the captain’s half of a dollar bill, to receive the shipment. “The Drop” was then concealed in hidden closets of homes and in secret rooms in the floors of barns. Upright adults and teenagers would choose to make a buck helping to unload. “I was happy to be there, making my twenty bucks” (p. 102). A sense of the struggle between the morality of rum-running and the underlying view that it wasn’t “that” illegal is noted when Ruben says, “It opened my eyes to watch my father walking the fringes of dishonesty that afternoon, though I could appreciate why he did” (p. 116).

Curriculum Connection: After students finish reading the novel, organize a debate with assigned sides as to whether alcohol should have been prohibited or not. Students must cite examples from the book.
...more

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Jan 29, 2018 Nyah Rust rated it really liked it

Personal Response: I thought the book needed some more description and longer parts of the book, it was disappointing to me I thought that the boys would do a lot more than finding a dead body and Ruben doing only a little rum running.

Plot summary: This book was about Prohibition and how it affected a small town and its people. The book was about two friends who find a dead body washed up on shore all fancy and shot up, they check his pockets and don't find anything besides a tobacco pouch and Personal Response: I thought the book needed some more description and longer parts of the book, it was disappointing to me I thought that the boys would do a lot more than finding a dead body and Ruben doing only a little rum running.

Plot summary: This book was about Prohibition and how it affected a small town and its people. The book was about two friends who find a dead body washed up on shore all fancy and shot up, they check his pockets and don't find anything besides a tobacco pouch and they decide to call the police, Jeddy's dad is the Sheriff and he is out of town running an errand so his deputy takes the call and it takes three hours for Charlie the deputy to get to the house and before he got off the phone he yelled at the kids to stay in the house and to not leave until he gets there. They listen and when the group gets to the beach the body is gone and Charlie tells the boys to be quiet about the body and grills the two boys about what they found on the body, they tell him they did not find anything and that he looked real fancy and he had a watch and that was about it and Charlie does not believe it, this leads the boys to be suspicious about Charlie and his activities and who he runs with. Jeddy's dad is being paid to keep his mouth shut and he is soon a part of bribes for rum running and keeping the coast guard away from all the liquor ports and docks and where shipments are being dropped and by doing that he is making enough money to get a phone and new car, like all the people taking part in rum running and it is doing them good, unless the coast guard catches wind of a shipment and when they see a boat they just start shooting and try to get everyone on the boat and that is what happened on the Black Duck the only two crew members who live are Ruben and Chuck, no one knew Ruben was on the boat and Chuck never said, Ruben had always been quiet about everything that had happened until a young boy asked him.
Characterization: Ruben Hart had never talked about what had happened on the Black duck and he never trusted anyone with the truth of what happened until a young man asks him and will not let him be until he knows the truth
Recommendation: I would recommend this to people who like romance, history, and action this book has all of that and it works well together and it is a well written book. ...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Anna rated it it was amazing

This is the story of Reuben Hart and his friend Jeddy MacKenzie from a small town in Rhode Island (I'm guessing at the spellings because I listened to the audiobook). They get caught up in the drama of the rum running trade during Prohibition.

I really really really enjoyed this book. It's a story within a story, opening when a kid from nowadays wants to get a job with the local paper, and to prove himself, he goes to get a story from the one surviving man in town that might have been part of th This is the story of Reuben Hart and his friend Jeddy MacKenzie from a small town in Rhode Island (I'm guessing at the spellings because I listened to the audiobook). They get caught up in the drama of the rum running trade during Prohibition.

I really really really enjoyed this book. It's a story within a story, opening when a kid from nowadays wants to get a job with the local paper, and to prove himself, he goes to get a story from the one surviving man in town that might have been part of the history of the Black Duck, an infamous rum running vessel that met a bad end. So he goes to interview 84 year old Reuben Hart, who is hesitant to talk to him at first but then opens up. The parts with the young kid are 3 person narrative, but the rest, the heart of the story, is 1st person as told by Reuben.

Reuben and Jeddy are best friends but that unravels quickly when the two of them find a body washed up on a local beach. The body is richly dressed, with a gold watch and jewelry, but no ID. Reuben searches the body and finds a fancy tobacco pouch in the man's back pockets, which he ends up taking a souvenir. The two of them try to report the body, since Jeddy's father is the town police chief, but Chief MacKenzie is out of town. Deputy Culp (I think) takes the call instead, takes 6 hours to meet them at the beach, and by then, the body is gone.

It's pretty obvious quickly that Culp is on the take from someone who didn't want that body found. What follows is a somewhat complicated story of rum running, mixed loyalties, Boston and New York mafia types, and at least 3 references to clam chowder.

I absolutely loved all of it. The narrator for the audiobook has a fabulous voice for playing the part of an old man, and younger guys too. His characterization of an old hermit Tom is just priceless.
I liked the the voice of the character too.

Apparently the story is based on a real rum running boat, also called The Black Duck, which met the same end as the one in the boat. I guess that realism adds to the book, but the writer has a fantastic talent for characterization. ...more

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May 29, 2011 Orlin Fuentes rated it liked it · review of another edition

Book Report for: Orlin Fuentes
Grade: 7, Date: 5/27/11
________________________________________

Black Duck
The author of Black Duck is Janet Taylor Lisle.
This is a non-fiction book.
It was published by Sleuth Puffin in 2006 and has 252 pages.
The setting is: a small town.
The main character is Rubben Hart and other characters are Jeddy McKenzie, Marina McKenzie, Tom Morrison, Billy Bradly.
Here is what happened early in the story: Ruben and Jeddy find a dead body on the shore of a beach. They look ...more

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Mar 20, 2017 Ismet rated it it was amazing

The book I read was Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lise. Years afterward, Ruben Hart tells the story about how he, his family, and his best friend get caught up into a secret rum-running business. Ruben’s story has twists and turns. One turn took a turn for the worse. Ruben meets the captain and crew of the Black Duck. The Black Duck is a fearsome rum-running boat that always dodges the coast guard even if they are ambushed, it always seemed to get away.
In 1929 Newport, Rhode Island, Ruben and Je
The book I read was Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lise. Years afterward, Ruben Hart tells the story about how he, his family, and his best friend get caught up into a secret rum-running business. Ruben’s story has twists and turns. One turn took a turn for the worse. Ruben meets the captain and crew of the Black Duck. The Black Duck is a fearsome rum-running boat that always dodges the coast guard even if they are ambushed, it always seemed to get away.
In 1929 Newport, Rhode Island, Ruben and Jeddy are walking down Brown’s Shore looking for excitement, but what they don't realize is that most of the rum-running business is done on the shore. They finally come across some excitement. A dead body lying motionless on the sandy shore. They both seem pretty calm about the subject. They decided to search the body and see the cause of death. This leads a to a bigger plot on which they both figure out later in the book.
One internal conflict is character vs self. Ruben fights through tough decisions to ensure the safety of people that he cares about. One example, Ruben and Marina were fighting about if Ruben had the ticket. Ruben denies the fact he has it. One external conflict is character vs character. Ruben gets captured by the Boston Boys gang. They wanted to make Ruben talk about where the ticket was, but Ruben wouldn't budge. Finally, Ruben gets busted out but it isn't the busting out he wanted. Once again Ruben gets captured.
I enjoyed reading this book because it's a crime and mystery book. At the start it really pulls you in because it starts off as how the coast guard and rum-runners have a heated dispute against each other. The way they put it out is as a news story. For example the heading and the captions were like a news story.
I think that all audiences would enjoy this book. The age would be between 12-16. I don't have a specific gender that would enjoy this book I think everyone would like it. I don't think people with the age 5-10 would like this book because some parts of the book is inappropriate for children with that age.

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Oct 15, 2018 Karl Gregar rated it really liked it

The story Black Duck, by Janet Taylor Lisle, is a historical fiction book. It is based off of a true story. Black Duck takes place in 1929, when prohibition is at its height. Prohibition was a nationwide ban of the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933. Despite being illegal, alcohol of all forms still had a large demand. To get past federal law, fast boats known as rum-runners would carry alcohol from large freight ships moored in internation ...more

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Feb 11, 2018 Sheyla Nunez rated it really liked it

*Spoiler Alert*
Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle is an adventure fiction. The book told a story of what had to do with the Prohibition laws that took place during the 1920's. The Black Duck was very informational if you didn't know much of what happened during the Prohibition and the effects that it had on many people you would certainly have a great idea of what happened during this unlawful time.
The story basically starts with our main character (Ruben) and a friend finding the body of a dead ...more

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Apr 09, 2015 Robert rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The events that happened in the book were never boring. Something was always happening. During some parts a mix of emotions came to your mind. I didn't love the book because some parts in the story didn't need to be there. Some parts didn't help with the story it seemed like they were just to fill in blank spots. But the parts that were important were good. A brief summary would be; Ruben and his friend Jed were walking along a shore when they spotted a dead body. Ruben found a pouch with an ord ...more

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Jan 08, 2010 Thomas Joseph rated it liked it

Anyone interested in some alcohol? Well of course you are, because we are here in the 1920's at the peak of Prohibition right alongside the smugglers who denied to be tethered by such a law.

A young boy and his friend live along the coast in New England and one day stumble across a body while combing the beach. Their find leads them down a mysterious path that completely obliterates the general security that everything they thought they knew falsely instilled in them. Pitted against their familie ...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Maureen E rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, young-adult

by Janet Taylor Lisle

Opening line: “A rumrunner had lived in town, one of the notorious outlaws who smuggled liquor during the days of Prohibition, that was the rumor.”

David wants to be come a reporter and so he decides to look into the story. Over time he forms a connection with Ruben Hart, who tells him what happened to the Black Duck, a famous rumrunning boat, all those years ago.

This was a book that I probably should have liked a bit more than I did. It takes an interesting time in a America ...more

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About Janet Taylor Lisle

Janet Taylor Lisle

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Janet Taylor Lisle was born in Englewood, New Jersey, and grew up in Farmington, Connecticut, spending summers on the Rhode Island coast.The eldest child and only daughter of an advertising executive and an architect, she attended local schools and at fifteen entered The Ethel Walker School, a girl’s boarding school in Simsbury, Connecticut.

After graduation from Smith College, she joined VISTA (Vo ...more