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Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces
The 1929 stock market crash has come and gone, and Daniel, much criticized and mocked for his predictions of that event, has been vindicated. Now he wants to go back to the carefree days of being a boy, but it's impossible. When his bank hires a black man as a guard, Daniel stands up against discrimination and bigoted opponents. He rescues and becomes the guardian of three homeless, abused teenagers. This is a story of human struggles at the onset of the Great Depression that will touch your emotions and challenge you to reconsider your perceptions of those conditions that still persist a century later.
246 pages, Hardcover
Published December 3, 2019
3 people want to read
About the author
Peter Pactor
13 books19 followersI have spent all my life with young people. I started out their age and now I'm over four times as old as they are. I retired from teaching in June of 2016 after a half-century of being in the classroom. I feel that one should change careers every fifty years. Now I am an award winning author. My "Daniel Series" currently has six volumes, written with the reader in mind.
Besides the pleasure I get from writing, I also enjoy reading, painting, playing folk music on my banjo, and storytelling, which I have been doing for almost three decades.
Besides the pleasure I get from writing, I also enjoy reading, painting, playing folk music on my banjo, and storytelling, which I have been doing for almost three decades.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 23, 2020
Reviewed by Amy C. (age 15) for Reader Views Kids (02/2020)
“Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces” by Peter Pactor is a historical fiction novel set in 1929 after the Great Stock Market Crash, entering into the Great Depression.
Many people lost everything in the Stock Market Crash of 1929. This story is about what happens afterwards. Daniel is thirteen years old, very smart and mature for his age. He has been working overtime after the crash with his multiple responsibilities and commitments. He really tries hard to take some time to be a teenager but there’s no time for that – people are struggling, and he has the means, and the desire, to help. Picking up the pieces is literally what Daniel does as he goes up against people that still oppose him, even after all his predictions unfortunately come true. He also encounters some new challenges such as discrimination and homelessness.
“Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces” is the fifth book in the Daniel series. I haven’t read them all, the first one I read was book four, “Daniel: The Age of Dissolution.” I really enjoyed the story, so, when I was asked if I wanted to read book five – of course, I said yes! I’ve enjoyed learning more about the stock market crash and the depression. It seems like life was a lot harder in those times, but a lot of things are still relevant (sadly) today, like homelessness – especially among teenagers.
After reading book four, I was used to Daniel’s mannerisms and maturity, but it seems like Daniel grew up even more in this book. He expands his company and buys his school and a hotel! He also becomes a guardian to three homeless boys. And even though I found this part of the story the most unbelievable, (a thirteen-year-old being a guardian to older boys), it was actually the part of the book I enjoyed the most. The teens and their struggles were so lifelike and realistic. Though I couldn’t identify with them personally, their stories really made me feel sad and angry about their situations. The abuse they suffered was incredible – one of the teens had a mom who didn’t even name him – what? Seriously, how can people act like this?
One part I really connected with was the section where Daniel talks about goals and how if you don’t have goals all you have are wishes. He tells the boys to write down their goals. Then he tells them to copy them every day because this is setting a mindset for them to actually happen. We talk about this at our church group – your thoughts are your reality.
One thing I should mention, the story unfolds though an older Daniel (in his 90s) telling his story to his autobiographer. I bring this up because I didn’t really notice it in the last book except in the prologue, but there were a few places in this book where the story jumps back and forth from present to past and it wasn’t always clear at first. Other than that it’s really easy to follow.
I think “Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces,” and the other books in the series would be great for teens and older and I recommend it. As I was finishing the story, I wondered how many more books there would be – Daniel is only thirteen and the ending of this story leaves room for another!
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Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (02/20)
“Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces,” is the fifth book in storyteller Peter Pactor’s Daniel series. This story takes place in 1929, after the stock market has crashed, and the Great Depression is about to begin. Thirteen-year-old Daniel now holds a doctorate in Economics from Columbia University. He has returned home to Hampton Crossing, with his friends and is ready to be a boy again, but he still has a lot on his plate outside of school. As he attempts to get back into the swing of things with his studies and athletic pursuits, Daniel encounters people who are angry at him, mainly because they didn’t take his advice and lost everything. Being viewed as an economic expert at age thirteen comes with a lot of pressure. He also is faced with having to handle the public’s negative reaction to the bank hiring a man of color at equal pay. Daniel knows that this man has earned the job and it distresses him to see that not all of society will recognize this. As with everything else, Daniel stays true to his word and character. He is a man of integrity and a lot of people could learn from what is written about him in these fictional pages.
I enjoyed reading the fifth book in the Daniel series. While they can be read out of order, I believe it is best to go through the series so that the books are being read in the proper order of the timeline. Having read some of the earlier books in this series, I was already well acquainted with Daniel and his friends. Peter Pactor has done an amazing job of bringing them to life, so as I got drawn into this story, I felt like I was visiting with friends. I also love how the author has a gift of teaching me about history during this time, while telling his story. I feel like I have learned a lot about the stock market crash and the Great Depression by reading his stories. It is refreshing to step back into time and read about young men who have integrity and are not tied into modern technology. I find this aspect to be refreshing!
I highly recommend reading “Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces,” and the other books in this series. This is also an excellent selection for a reader’s group or a school reading list. I think it would be fun for grandparents and great grandparents who’ve survived this period, to share this series with younger family members so that they can gain an understanding of the difficulties that people faced during that time.
“Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces” by Peter Pactor is a historical fiction novel set in 1929 after the Great Stock Market Crash, entering into the Great Depression.
Many people lost everything in the Stock Market Crash of 1929. This story is about what happens afterwards. Daniel is thirteen years old, very smart and mature for his age. He has been working overtime after the crash with his multiple responsibilities and commitments. He really tries hard to take some time to be a teenager but there’s no time for that – people are struggling, and he has the means, and the desire, to help. Picking up the pieces is literally what Daniel does as he goes up against people that still oppose him, even after all his predictions unfortunately come true. He also encounters some new challenges such as discrimination and homelessness.
“Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces” is the fifth book in the Daniel series. I haven’t read them all, the first one I read was book four, “Daniel: The Age of Dissolution.” I really enjoyed the story, so, when I was asked if I wanted to read book five – of course, I said yes! I’ve enjoyed learning more about the stock market crash and the depression. It seems like life was a lot harder in those times, but a lot of things are still relevant (sadly) today, like homelessness – especially among teenagers.
After reading book four, I was used to Daniel’s mannerisms and maturity, but it seems like Daniel grew up even more in this book. He expands his company and buys his school and a hotel! He also becomes a guardian to three homeless boys. And even though I found this part of the story the most unbelievable, (a thirteen-year-old being a guardian to older boys), it was actually the part of the book I enjoyed the most. The teens and their struggles were so lifelike and realistic. Though I couldn’t identify with them personally, their stories really made me feel sad and angry about their situations. The abuse they suffered was incredible – one of the teens had a mom who didn’t even name him – what? Seriously, how can people act like this?
One part I really connected with was the section where Daniel talks about goals and how if you don’t have goals all you have are wishes. He tells the boys to write down their goals. Then he tells them to copy them every day because this is setting a mindset for them to actually happen. We talk about this at our church group – your thoughts are your reality.
One thing I should mention, the story unfolds though an older Daniel (in his 90s) telling his story to his autobiographer. I bring this up because I didn’t really notice it in the last book except in the prologue, but there were a few places in this book where the story jumps back and forth from present to past and it wasn’t always clear at first. Other than that it’s really easy to follow.
I think “Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces,” and the other books in the series would be great for teens and older and I recommend it. As I was finishing the story, I wondered how many more books there would be – Daniel is only thirteen and the ending of this story leaves room for another!
----
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (02/20)
“Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces,” is the fifth book in storyteller Peter Pactor’s Daniel series. This story takes place in 1929, after the stock market has crashed, and the Great Depression is about to begin. Thirteen-year-old Daniel now holds a doctorate in Economics from Columbia University. He has returned home to Hampton Crossing, with his friends and is ready to be a boy again, but he still has a lot on his plate outside of school. As he attempts to get back into the swing of things with his studies and athletic pursuits, Daniel encounters people who are angry at him, mainly because they didn’t take his advice and lost everything. Being viewed as an economic expert at age thirteen comes with a lot of pressure. He also is faced with having to handle the public’s negative reaction to the bank hiring a man of color at equal pay. Daniel knows that this man has earned the job and it distresses him to see that not all of society will recognize this. As with everything else, Daniel stays true to his word and character. He is a man of integrity and a lot of people could learn from what is written about him in these fictional pages.
I enjoyed reading the fifth book in the Daniel series. While they can be read out of order, I believe it is best to go through the series so that the books are being read in the proper order of the timeline. Having read some of the earlier books in this series, I was already well acquainted with Daniel and his friends. Peter Pactor has done an amazing job of bringing them to life, so as I got drawn into this story, I felt like I was visiting with friends. I also love how the author has a gift of teaching me about history during this time, while telling his story. I feel like I have learned a lot about the stock market crash and the Great Depression by reading his stories. It is refreshing to step back into time and read about young men who have integrity and are not tied into modern technology. I find this aspect to be refreshing!
I highly recommend reading “Daniel: Picking Up the Pieces,” and the other books in this series. This is also an excellent selection for a reader’s group or a school reading list. I think it would be fun for grandparents and great grandparents who’ve survived this period, to share this series with younger family members so that they can gain an understanding of the difficulties that people faced during that time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review