Trouble

By: Gary D. Schmidt, S. D. Schindler

Narrated by: Jason Culp

Henry Smith's father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.

But Trouble comes careening down the road one night in the form of a pick-up truck that strikes Henry's older brother, Franklin.

In the truck is Chay Chouan, a young Cambodian from Franklin's preparatory school. The tragedy sparks racial tensions in the school - and in the town where Henry's family has lived for generations.

Caught between anger and grief, Henry does the only thing he feels he can: he sets off for Mt. Katahdin, which he and Franklin had planned to climb together. One July morning, he leaves for Maine with his best friend and the loveable stray, Black Dog, in tow. But when they encounter Chay Chouan on the road, fleeing demons of his own, Henry learns that turning a blind eye to Trouble only brings Trouble closer.

With moments of humor, tenderness, and remarkable strength, Henry and Chay travel a path to the mountain that neither of them expects.

©2008 Gary D. Schmidt (P)2008 Scholastic Inc.

Critic reviews

"Contains Schmidt's eloquent language and compelling characters as well as compassionate examinations of the passage from childhood to adulthood." ( School Library Journal)
"Tautly constructed, metaphorically rich, emotionally gripping and seductively told." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A deeply moving and pleasurable read." ( Kirkus Reviews)

A Great Book

This is the best book I've ever read i recommend this book for people that love a little twist.

Great book.

The narrator was slower than i would like, but the book was amazing and the ending was dull. None the less, i loved THE BOOK.

Gary is the best!

A young woman in church first told me about the author and his book, Wednesday Wars. I was blown away with his story telling. We are close in age, so when Gary tells of something from the 1960’s or 70’s, I can better visualize and relate to the characters in these YA books! In this book, Trouble, Gary does a masterful job of bringing everything together. You cannot avoid trouble in life but there is also grace!

A wonderful heartfelt read!

Beautiful writing, characters you love or hate, an interesting way to talk about refugees with young readers.

I love this book!

This is the best book I have ever read! This book was amazing and I would like to thank Jason for the reading and making it a whole lot faster for me to read! Thanks so much!