Daniel's Walk

by Michael Spooner, Reka Simonsen (Editor)

"Your daddy's in trouble, boy," said the voice. "It's up to you from here, son."

A teenage boy walks the Oregon Trail in search of his missing father

Has something happened to Daniel's father? The warning might have been just a dream, but Daniel can't take that chance. He leaves Missouri to search for his father along the Oregon Trail.

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 barely escapes being shot by a horse thief. To protect himself, Daniel joins a wagon train, where he meets the feisty and outspoken Rosalie. Yet the horse thief returns, and this time he kidnaps Daniel and Rosalie. Can the two of them join forces long enough to escape?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

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!