Daniel's Walk

by Michael Spooner

I knelt down by one of the grizzly's tracks. It was larger than my hand where his pads had pushed the mud out wide. I pressed my palm into the hollow of his track and stretched my fingers out to touch his claw marks one by one. My scalp tingled.
"Sure was a big one, wasn't he?"
I spun around and something knocked me flat on my stomach. Before I could roll over, a heavy knee pinned my shoulder to the ground and a hard hand yanked my head back by the hair.
"It's me again, white boy," breathed Haggard in my ear. "Don't say you're not glad to see me." --From Daniel's Walk

"Your daddy's in trouble, boy," said the Voice.

Daniel's father is an experienced trapper who knows the Rocky Mountains. So what could have happened to him? Yet Daniel is haunted by the Voice and its message. He decides to leave his home in Missouri to search for his pa.

But it is 1844 and the West is a wilderness. Trouble lurks all along the Oregon Trail, and trouble finds Daniel right away. One stormy night he sees a frightening, scar-faced man stealing horses--and the horse thief sees him, too. Daniel barely escapes being shot. He joins a wagon train headed west, but for him there is no safety in numbers. As surely as he knows that his father is in danger, he knows that the scar-faced man will try to kill him again.

Slowly Daniel comes to understand that he and his father are not the only ones in danger. There are some who will prosper from the westward expansion, but many more-white and Indian alike-will suffer as their land and their lives are destroyed.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

214 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2001

About the author

Michael Spooner is the author of several books for teens, including Entr@pment, Daniel's Walk, and Last Child. He lives in Logan, Utah.

Reviews

[Eileen Winfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel journeys, mostly on foot, miles west in search of his father.
I would select this book for purchase.

[Gary McGugan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historical fiction.

[Stockton Edmonds]

Imagine waking up from a dream and wondering if it was real. The dream told you to go and find your lost father that was somewhere around the green river in Utah. This is what happened to the main character in the book Daniel’s Walk. The reason why he’s father left is because his mother died during child labor. This drove the dad away from the house to remove all bad memories, including the son.

In the book he wakes up from a crazy dream that tells Daniel LeBlanc, to find his father. In his trip from Missouri he runs into crazy obstacles such as Indians and raiders and extreme fatigue. On his quest to find his father he hooks up with a wagon team to help protection, and, the protection could not have come at a better time. He needed the protection against all the obstacles that he had to go up against. It was a very crazy trip.

What makes this book good is the interesting plot and the suspense. Something that would make this book better is more detail. A lot of pioneer story are told in the voice of an adult. Not many of them are told from a childes point of view. Any readers that want to read and enjoy this book need to know that it gets better towards the end, and its worth finishing!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniels wakes up with a voice in his ear telling him that his father is endanger and needs him. Young Daniel sets out on foot heading west toward the Rocky Mountains. He encounters horsethieves and makes himself an enemy of Mr. Haggard. He is rescued by Mr. Clyman, a wagon trainmaster. He learns about life from Johnny, a free negro and Rosalie, a half white/half Indian girl. His quest for his father leads him into more danger. The story ends with a couple of twists, but they were more or less expected. The end was too neatly tied up. Students who like historical ficion, will like this book.

[Drew Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel is a boy living on the Missouri frontier, raised by his aunt in the wake of his mother's death, and dreaming of heading west to the Rockies to find his father. But his best laid plans are tossed aside as his journey takes him along a ragged wagon train, an old trapper, a fiery young girl, and the ire of a murderous thief.

I did like this western trail story, though it didn't really read any differently from other westerns. It's got all you need for a western: the open trail, guns, horses, Indians, haggard trappers. So, if you want a good ol' story with a dose of adventure and actually a pretty good plot twist this is a good one to pick up.

[Alexander Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Daniel's Walk by Michael Spooner, there are many thrills and suspense. It is about a boy named Daniel LeBlanc that heared a voice tell him that his dad was in danger and needed help so as soon as Daniel wakes up in the morning, he decides to leave his aunt and uncle's home and takes a wagon train to try to find his dad. Durring his travels, he learns many other peoples' lives are in danger and there land.

[Keira · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was working on my Master's degree at Utah State, my professor, Sylvia Read read this book to us. Her husband is the author. I really enjoyed it. It's "a good yarn about a boy on his way to finding his father and himself." You get pioneer wagon trains, mountain men, horse thieves, and adventure in this book. I found it to be a good historical fiction novel!

[Kellianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would actually give this a 4 1/2, great little Young Adult historical fiction. This is a fast read.

[Aleisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little piece of historical fiction. I read it for my YAL class and Spooner joined us on-line to discuss it. I really enjoyed the read and the conversation!

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful.

[Chase Jackson]

Great!