Mrs. Plato's Summer Reading Series: Black Duck

I just finished reading the story Black Duck. I wasn't sure if I would like it, based on its summary. My son picked it out. We also got its accompanying audio book from the library so we could read/listen in the car on a long trip last Monday.

I must say audiobooks make me sleepy! Who knew! Now I know the hard time some of my students had staying awake while I read aloud to them. It's really tough some days, especially if we read/listened in the late afternoon.

Black Duck has a Lexile of 790 and a 14-point Reading Counts! quiz, for students who might be interested.

Historical fiction pulls me in if there is a good plot. This story was based on the illegal "rum-running" that took place during the 1920's and early 1930's in the Northeast. These were the days of Prohibition: alcohol was illegal in the US. The Black Duck was a boat that transported illegal alcohol from ships outside of US jurisdiction to beaches and towns on the coast. People still bought and used alcohol, but it was much more difficult and costly once it was outlawed. The US saw an increase in violence and mob warfare during this time.

The story was a flashback through the eyes of Ruben Hart. Ruben is being interviewed by a soon-to-be ninth grader who thinks he would like to be a journalist. Little does he know the story that is about to unfold as Ruben tells his tales of what it was like to be an adolescent during the Prohibition. Ruben and his best friend, Jeddy Mackenzie, eventually parted ways because of the moral dilemmas caused by a town steeped in breaking the law.

This book has several good, universal themes/questions:
-What cost would you pay to tell the truth at all times?
-Is doing wrong still wrong when everyone else seems to be doing it?
-Love the sinner. Hate the sin.

In the end, I did like the book a great deal. What I particularly liked was how the author gave clues that allowed you to predict some of the plot, and also left some things "hanging" for the reader to infer. We find out that the Black Duck really existed, even though the story in the book was somewhat fictitious. Several parts of the story were based in fact.