The Last Ride of Caleb O'Toole

by Eric Pierpoint

Children's Book Winner of the Reading the West Book Award! "I need you to be strong." Caleb O'Toole could hear his mother's last words as clearly as if she was sitting right next to him. He promised her he'd keep his sisters safe. But safety is over a thousand miles away in the rugged Bitteroot Mountains―past dust-choked deserts and thorny tumbleweeds and as sun so hot, it's hard to breathe. Tornadoes and hungry wolves wait for them on the path ahead. But with the infamous Blackstone Gang hot on their trail, Caleb has no choice but to keep going. There's no telling how far the gang will go to keep their latest murder a secret. And Caleb is the number one witness to their crime. Caleb O'Toole can hear his mother's last words: "I need you to be strong." and he can't let her down.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Westerns, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Childrens

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2013

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would you have the fortitude to travel hundreds of miles in a small horse drawn wagon, through dangerous territory, to get to family you don’t really know, far away? Could you provide protection and food, as well as support for your siblings, all while being chased by evil villains who KNOW you witnessed their murdering, corrupted ways? One last thought, you are only a young boy, recently orphaned by cholera and you promised to keep your sisters safe, somehow. Follow the larger-than-life adventures of three siblings in The Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole by Eric Pierpont and see how a new hero is born!

Young Caleb O’Toole has the weight f the world on his shoulders in the wake of the cholera epidemic in the late 1800s in Kansas. He and his sisters set out to find their only living relative, an aunt, but to get to her, they must survive threats from every imaginable corner, from the elements , the terrain, wild animals, white men and Native American tribes at war with trespassers to their lands. Learning to survive, learning who to trust is not easy and but the journey is filled with new sights, adventures and friends found along the way! What will these children find in the end? Perhaps the warmth and safety of family, perhaps bitter disappointment, but for sure, it will be another adventure full of possibilities and hope!

From the first page, I was taken back in time, thrown into the middle of the terror and confusion felt by a young boy with too much responsibility thrown on his shoulders. Caleb and his sisters are wonderful role model for youngsters with their sense of honor, grit and the inner strength to take on the unknown, alone and unprepared for what lies ahead. The adventure ran high with beautifully detailed scenes that came alive in my mind as I lived each moment in awe of what they had to endure and how well they adapted and learned. This is a coming of age story written for middle grade children that will hold them captive and fill their heads with visions of the past and the power of youth! Children need heroes they can identify with, they need to understand the people from the past, the lives they lived and how ANYONE, regardless of age and circumstance can make a huge difference in the world! The Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole does that!
An ARC edition was provided by NetGalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
ISBN: 978-1402281716
Number of Pages: 304
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Recommendation: 9 & up
My Rating: 5 Stars
Available from: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
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[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This exciting read takes us from Kansas to the Oregon Trail. This young adult book begins in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1822, during a cholera epidemic. Distraught townsfolks are burning the houses of those who died. Young Caleb is left with sisters Julie and Tilly. Their parents are dead - will their home be burned next?

Some lawless men take advantage of the chaos to loot. The twelve-year-old and his sister are witnesses to murders. Their mother sent them to the Oregon Trail, to their aunt in Montana. All they have is a horse, small wagon and dog. Wolves and weather are encountered, then they find the train line isn't built yet and they will have to wait for a wagon train. Fort Kearney has been closed down. Trading work for food and barn space, the trio wait nearby in Dobytown. The villainous murderers are also on the Trail....

This is reminiscent of Clint Eastwood films like The Outlaw Josey Wales but the author says he retraced the steps and history himself. Small communities are wary of strangers but need their money. Echoes of the Civil War still resonate and some native tribes are peaceful but others resentful of their treatment. The Pawnees stay in cover and fire Sioux arrows near intruders. "Nothing scares folks like the Sioux," explains a scout who doesn't want to draw the ire of the army by actually attacking. Bullets fly, arrest warrants are telegraphed, a buffalo herd can still be found and wounds cannot easily be treated. One doctor still wanted to bleed a cholera victim, but a modern notion of drinking only boiled water and rehydrating the sick was already in use. A woman doctor teaches the youngsters about removing bullets and setting broken bones. Caleb and his sisters have to grow up fast. And in Montana, will they find a welcome?

Boys or girls will equally enjoy this fast-paced read full of danger, bravery and friendship.

[Gabs · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review (and others) can be found on My Full Bookshelf Reviews.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

(I should probably start off by saying that I am in the minority on this one from what I can see. (Almost) everyone else gave it glowing reviews, so you may want to take this review with a grain of salt.)

Think of every western movie and book that you have ever read. What did the plot revolve around? You'll probably come up with something along the lines of:
-disease
-outlaws
-cowboys/settlers
-Native Americans
-murder
-thieves

Every single event listed is in this book.

This book does prove that historical fiction doesn't have to be boring, a complaint that I hear a lot, especially from young kids, the age this book is geared to. But it could have been just as exciting if only one or two ideas were taken from that list and worked with, instead of throwing in every single thing that could possibly have gone wrong during this period in history. Or, they could have made this book a bit longer and spaced out the catastrophes; I don't think I would have minded as much, perhaps not at all, if things hadn't been happening almost on top of each other.

Of course, young kids might like The Last Ride of Caleb O'Toole more than I did, so I will not say that I am not recommending it; if there is one book that can keep a kid's attention span, it would be this one. There's hardly ever once a lull in the adventures of these fictional characters.

I may not have liked it, but I gave it an extra star because I know there are people who will. However, this one was simply not for me.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 1877, this piece of historical fiction depicts the hardships and dangers faced by the O'Toole children as they travel from Great Bend, Kansas to the Bitterroot Mountains. There has been a cholera outbreak and they have lost both their parents. Caleb's mother makes him promise to take his sisters to go live with their aunt in Montana. The author researched carefully and included all the known landmarks and pitfalls that travelers would have faced back then. The problems that the children encounter on their trip never seem to end. If they aren't being chased by bad guys, then there is a buffalo stampede, or illness, or a flash flood. Every time things seem to calm down, another disaster occurs. It will tire you out just reading it. Can you imagine what it must have been like for families that actually lived through that long trip west?

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical fiction, survival stories, or want a more adventuresome tale of pioneers heading west than they would get from Little House on the Prairie. The perseverance and courage that Caleb, Julie, and Tilly show are amazing and the action keeps you reading as quickly as you can, so you can see how each situation is resolved. It's a great book to include in a social studies unit on westward expansion, the Oregon Trail, and pioneers.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[Serina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Question: were kids really that dumb back then? Seemed like more should have died in that case. You might think I'm morbid, however in the first few pages the girl chases after her little dog. Repeadly. Against armed gun welding men. Who are riding horses. Who don't like her. Repeadly. Who just killed someone else they didn't like. And are criminals. Did I mention repeadly? Ya, so that turned me off to the book. But I figured stick with it, maybe its just that she's the only stupid one. Nope. The biggest thing I couldn't understand was how a boy who can ride a horse at breakneck speed shooting small targets with complete accuracey, somehow had trouble hitting men standing still. You'd think the fact that they want to rape and kill you and your sisters motivation....Nope. Add to it the boy's dumb luck, and sheer nativity. Yes, it was action packed, and historically accurate. But it missed the mark on the common sense level. It was a disappointment for me since I enjoy the historical reads, but this one was a fail.

FYI If you notice, out of all the reviews listed, so far..... I am one of the few not given the free advance copy. Hmmmm, Kind of suspicious when people who all receive a free copy write positive reviews and the people who just received the book normally .....don't.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. Although this is historical fiction, for children, as an adult I was hooked from the first page. I became a traveler on the Oregon Trail alongside Caleb, Julie, Tilly, Tumbler, Dusty, Pride and the many exciting characters brought to life in Eric Pierpoint's adventurous and daring novel. I have no problem recommending this book to adults and children alike. In fact, as a substitute teacher, I will recommend The Last Ride of Caleb O'Toole to my many teacher friends. This is a must read for the empowerment of all children. Mr. Pierpoint has clearly done his research and manages to educate and entertain equally. I know what I'm getting my family and friends for Christmas!

[Craig Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look up "rip roaring" in the dictionary and find "The Last Ride of Caleb O'Toole" as the definition. What a well-crafted bucking bronco of a book from first-time author Eric Pierpoint. YA readers won't be able to put this down any more than I could (many decades older). Following the tragic death of their parents, Caleb O'Toole, his two sisters, their dog and their horse embark on a dangerous adventure that becomes an emotional odyssey from childhood to adulthood in one epic historical journey along the merciless Oregon Trail. A Peabody contender for sure.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.0 of 5

I went in to this book really hoping to like it because, well, I really like author Eric Pierpoint as an actor. But I didn't.

I love books for kids and I often feel like I'm one of the last readers of western fiction, so this tale of a young boy and his sister, set in the 1800's in the Western part of the country should have been right up my alley.

Caleb O'Toole and his sisters must high-tail it out of town after their mother dies from cholera. There are bandits raiding all the neighboring homes and the O'Toole's aren't able to confront these raiders on their own. Or are they?

On their own, with no money and nowhere to go, Caleb and his sisters face off against criminals, disease, weather, and of course Indians. It would be tempting to give up in the face of such adversity, but Caleb's mother's last words were for him to stay strong and so he persists.

There is plenty of action. Lots and lots of gunfights (it's the old west, after all) and the book is almost written in serial form with the O'Toole's getting out of one scrap and right into another. And still...

...and still I was bored.

Just because a book has a lot of action written into it doesn't mean it is exciting or reads full of fury and action. Perhaps precisely because there is so much action written in to this story, it reads at one constant level. There just is no appropriate book pacing to allow the reader to get in to the story, build up to the action, and then come down from the action.

There also seems to be no real focus. It's a 'wandering' story. From the moment Caleb's mother dies, the kids are wandering from adventure to adventure but going nowhere. Again...part of that serial feel - "stay tuned for the next chapter...!"

I wish I could have liked this more. Being a fan of westerns and YA I haven't read a good book in the combined genres since Bruce Coville's Fortune's Journey.

Looking for a good book? The Last Ride of Caleb O'Toole is a YA western by Eric Pierpoint that is full of action but the pacing is too even to allow the action to feel thrilling.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite parts were the buffalo stampede and the rescue by the Sioux. Most maddening was the childrens' arrival in Bannack. Most intriguing was the lowering of the wagon over a bluff by rope at Ash Hollow, Neb. It's a simple story in its way, a boy learns to shoot and ride like an Indian and a girl to shoot and cure like a medicine woman, with a cute small child and an apparently indestructible group of two horses and a little dog. You meet lots of interesting characters, some of whom really lived, and travel through some gorgeous country: "After three days, they passed a vast lake and pools of lily pads. Eagles sailed overhead. Moose and elk grazed in the fields of purple fireweed." You can see this scene in Yellowstone today. There's a lot of detail about how life is lived under these circumstances, which teachers and parents will love, and lots about guns, which some won't. I enjoyed reading it beginning to end.

[Harron68 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars may be too generous for this "YA" novel of the West. Crammed with constant action, it reads like a Hardy Boys tale, but since it has a basis in real people and events of the era, the historical characters bring it more into life. As I rated it 4 stars, perhaps it merits them.

[Dena McMurdie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the ultimate book for western loving kids. Caleb O' Toole and his sisters must flee their home upon the deaths of their parents. They make their way to the Bitterroot mountains in Montana and have many many adventures along the way.

There is so much to love about this book. It is marvelously researched and well planned. The dangers and setbacks that Caleb and his two sisters face were very real for that time. Books like this never fail to impress upon me the responsibility that was often shouldered by kids during this era. They had to grow up fast and that is exactly what Caleb, Julie, and Tilly do. Caleb and Julie both change quite a bit over the course of the book as they rise to face the challenges that confront them. Julie becomes quite adept with the medicine bag and Caleb learns to ride, shoot, and make allies in unexpected places.

The author impressed me with his story telling ability. I was sucked right into the story and felt like I was riding alongside the characters. This book would make a fantastic movie.

There is a lot of action in the book and sometimes there is almost too much going on. There are gunfights galore, wolves, tornadoes, thieves, murderers, scoundrels, Indians, stampedes, and one pathetic saloon girl. The kids are shown kindness, cruelty, compassion, and hostility. They are treated as outlaws and hailed as heroes. In the first 50 pages especially, I felt like I didn't have time to catch my breath. But after that the pace evened out a bit and moved along at a good clip.

Overall, I loved it. Some things didn't strike me as completely believable, but it was a cross-country western adventure that I won't soon forget.

Content: Lots of gunfights. People die. The details are minimal and tempered for the age group.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for the tour in exchange for an honest review.

My blog: Books for Kids

[Kim McGee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Young Indiana Jones meets The Lone Ranger! Caleb O'Toole is trying to find his little sister and he is having a really bad day - his mother is dying of Cholera, his little sister is missing and some hodlums are robbing his neighbors and burning their homesteads. A dark and mysterious stranger saves them at the last minute and Caleb then finds himself in a wagon with his sisters heading on the Oregon Trail to their aunt's house 1300 miles away. They find themselves in all kinds of danger with no money and winter setting in soon. Caleb is a very likeable character and quite capable of saving the day even without the help of the mysterious Henderson. Very fast paced with adventure on every page - this one will have the boys reading under the covers with flashlights well after dark! I was fortunate to read this as an advance and it is now available for all.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Pierpoint’s The Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole is an action-packed thrill ride right from the very first page, that doesn’t let up until it’s conclusion 281 pages later. Aimed towards young readers, this book would make a wonderful addition to any 5th grade to middle school classroom, as it’s set after the Civil War. Young Caleb O’Toole and his sisters, Julie and Tilly, head west along the Oregon Trail following several devastating events in their hometown. Pierpoint excels at weaving real historical events into his western that allows the reader to completely lose themselves in the story. Cont...

[MariLee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page-turning historical fiction set in the late 1800's about 12 year old Caleb, his older sister Julie, and younger sister Tilley, who travel from Great Bend, Kansas to Bozeman, Montana following the death of their parents. They have some harrowing experiences with outlaws and Indians as they travel 1000 miles to Montana to meet their aunt. Although written for older elementary school and junior high audiences, there is enough action and adventure to appeal to a broad array of readers. Would make a great movie.

[Keri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. My mother in-law has read it twice now. Because I am from Casper, Wy, the Oregon Trail is at the heart of our History lessons and the root of our culture. I had the pleasure of sharing an afternoon with Eric Pierpoint at his book signing and he made me love this book more. Thank you, Mr. Pierpoint, for sharing your story with us.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

1870's. Cholera and deceased parents. Hysteria. Thieves. Murder. Orphaned, but industrious, siblings. Oregon Trail and the Montana Territory. Gunslingers, sheriffs, and doctors. Retribution and justice. This is a fast paced Western with several characters demonstrating strong family bonds along with a rightous sense of justice. Plot and character driven--best of both worlds.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having grown up on John Wayne movies, I was eager to read The Last Ride of Caleb O'toole. This was an excellent first novel, that stayed true to the old Wild West. I wish this book was around when my sons were in middle school!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, action-packed middle reader western. I enjoyed every page. I could tell you all about how much I loved it, but I think the most important thing is that my 10-year-old reluctant reader son loved it. It has enough going on to hold his attention and he loved the old West setting.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

bookaday #27. Rousing wild west action adventures for 3 of the luckiest kids to travel west in the 1870s, reads like a movie western, what doesn't happen to the O'Tooles?. Violence level makes it best for upper elementary or YA readers.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great Western adventure book of three siblings starting on the Oregon trail, then north to Montana. This book is written for a teen/tween audience.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great action packed book for young adult and adult readers.