Blood on the River Summary
Elisa Carbone

Blood on the River Overview

Blood on the River a 2007 historical fiction novel by Elsa Carbone. It follows an impoverished, 11-year old orphan named Samuel Collier as he travels from London aboard the Susan Constant, one of the Virginia Company's three ships (along with Discovery and Godspeed) bound for the Jamestown in Virginia. Samuel is an intractable young man, but under the tutelage of Captain John Smith, he learns how to adapt to a new environment and communicate with the Algonquian Native Americans. In discovering the New World, Samuel reinvents himself, and realizes that he is capable of more than he ever realized. Blood on the River explores the themes of adventure, friendship, and personal growth.