Trouble on the Ohio River

American Adventure #15

by Norma Jean Lutz

In early nineteenth-century Cincinnati, ten-year-old Lucy Lankford eagerly awaits the arrival of her new piano and, along with her recently orphaned cousin Ben Allerton, tries to find out why the school bully is so attached to a worn remnant of flowered fabric.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Christian

Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

About the author

Norma Jean Lutz’s writing career began when she enrolled in a writing correspondence course. Since then, she has had over 250 short stories and articles published in both secular and Christian publications. The full-time writer is also the author of over 50 published books under her own name and many ghostwritten books. Her books have been favorably reviewed in Affair de Coeur, Coffee Time Romance, Romance Reader at Heart, and The Romance Studio magazines, and her short fiction has garnered a number of first prizes in local writing contests.

Norma Jean is the founder of the Professionalism In Writing School, which was held annually in Tulsa for fourteen years. This writers' conference, which closed its doors in 1996, gave many writers their start in the publishing world.

A gifted teacher, Norma Jean has taught a variety of writing courses at local colleges and community schools, and is a frequent speaker at writers' seminars around the country. For eight years, she taught on staff for the Institute of Children's Literature. She has served as artist-in-residence at grade schools, and for two years taught a staff development workshop for language arts teachers in schools in Northeastern Oklahoma.

As co-host for the Tulsa KNYD Road Show, she shared the microphone with Kim Spence to present the Road Show Book Club, a feature presented by the station for more than a year. She has also appeared in numerous interviews on KDOR-TV.

Norma Jean has brought out past out-of-print novels to create a new series. These teen novels (which she likes to call "Clean Teen Reads") were published in the 1980s and 90s, yet the story lines are timeless. Sporting new titles and new book covers, these books will become part of the "Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection" series.

Her newest teen offering is Brought to You By the Color Drab. A story of a young man living in the ghetto who seemingly was born in the wrong place in the wrong time. This is a story of redemption!

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifteenth book in The American Adventure series. This series tells about the lives of children from many generations of a fictional family throughout American history, from the settling of Plymouth by the Pilgrims through the end of World War II.

It's 1819 in the growing frontier city of Cincinnati, Ohio, and ten-year-old Lucy Lankford is very excited. Her parents have finally agreed to buy her the thing she wants more than anything in the world, a piano. But soon after the piano is ordered, everything changes in Cincinnati. Due to a drought, the Ohio River dries up, and no river traffic can come into town. This hurts businesses already struggling due to a depression. Many people lose their homes and jobs, including Lucy's best friend Charlotte and her family. At the same time, Lucy must deal with helping her cousin Ben fit in. Ben is an orphan from Boston who has come to live in Cincinnati with his older brother. The school bully seems determined to torment Ben, and Lucy is determined to find a way to help her cousin.

This was one of my favorite books in the American Adventure series. The characters seemed more realistic and appealing, and the pace was better; the story flowed along really well. I'd definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoyed other American Adventure books, and I am looking forward to read more from this series.

[Daniel Gaul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy relates the struggles of a street bully who is searching for his long-lost sister, goes out of her way to help a woman in need, and ends up being at the center of a grand reunion!

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

My name is Lucy Lankford. I live in Cincinnati with my parents and big brother George. My father works as a steamboat builder. In 1819, my parents agreed that I could get a piano from back east. Unfortunately, at the same time, the ohio River began to sink because the spring rains were late. Soon, the steamboats could nolonger tracvel up and down river so Cincinnati, which depernds on the steam boat trade, shut down. At the same time, all of the banks shut down and many people lost their jobs. my best freind's family lost their house because they had no moeny. During that time, I met a woman who came to Cincinati on a stemboat when the river started to rise again. Her name was Sadie Rose and she taught me to play a song on the piano. later we also found out that a boy who lived in a very poor section of town was actually her brother who was adopted years before with out her.

[Marius B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Previously in the series: Earthquake in Cincinnati (#14)

Set in the years 1819 and 1820, Trouble on the Ohio River chronicles the continuing journey of the Lankford family,
-of their struggles with bullies
-and of their trials with drought and disappearing rivers.

You follow George's little sister - Lucy (10-11) - who struggles with focusing on what is important in life, and with battling alongside her cousin Ben Allerton against the hateful bully Raggy Wallace.

Next up in the series: Escape from Slavery (The American Adventure #16)

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a story of how dry weather effected towns along a river. It also contains lessons on judging by appearances.