From Goodreads,"Will has no choice. His father drags him along on a wilderness adventure in the footsteps of legendary explorers Lewis and Clark--whether he likes it or not. All the while, Will senses that something about this trip isn't quite right.
Along the journey, Will meets fascinating strangers and experiences new thrills, including mountain cliffs, whitewater rapids, and a heart-hammering bear encounter.
It is a journey into the soul of America's past, and the meaning of family in the future. In the end, Will must face his own, life-changing test of courage.
A father-and-son journey along the Lewis and Clark Trail--from Fort Mandan to the shining sea--offers readers a genre-bending blend of American history, thrilling action, and personal discovery."
Goodreads - Courage Test
This past school year one of my students had a lot going on in life. They enjoyed reading and had ask for some book recommendations. It was a precarious situation because I wanted to make sure I got a book that would be a positive thing and not something that would trigger a past memory. I let the student read through some of my book recommendations on Scholastic and pick which one he wanted me to order. He settled upon this book. Once the book got in I gave it to him and told him to return it when he finished as it was my copy. Needless to say he never started the book and it appeared back on my desk within the week. I however read through this book in a day.
This book follows Will and his dad as they follow in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. Will's mom practically shoves him out the door to go on the trip with his father. He doesn't want too and makes plans to dig in his heels. But as the trip progresses Will learns things about his father and about himself. Together they must complete the quest together and figure out how to tackle any situations that are sent their way.
Favorite quote from The Courage Test,
"When it comes to finding a way to get my dad to light up, books are the best conductors."
This book centers around Will and his dad trekking across the country while following in the footsteps of famous explorers Lewis and Clark. Since Lewis and Clark had such an important piece in this book it immediately fell into the historical fiction genre. I am 25 years old and I don't honestly remember a lot about Lewis and Clark and their journey across America. There are little tidbits that I remember, but this book retaught a lot of their expedition. I love that Preller brought the historical facts about Lewis and Clark into this book. The majority of the information was given by the dad. He is a fan of the journey and he shares a LOT of information about the two and their expedition. I think the information was included perfectly because the book does take place in present day. I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction, but I really enjoyed this book and the history that was included.
I had two problems with this book. One was that the cover really had no connection to the book itself. The cover shows a board game type situation. Spoiler alert: There were no board games in this book. The second problem I had was that the back cover stated that someone was going to be facing a life changing illness. Honestly, the illness could have been excluded from this book. It was something that was barely mentioned, and only then at the VERY end of the book. I honestly expected it to be a big storyline that was woven into the journey, but it wasn't. I felt like that was a bit of a letdown because I was looking forward to Will having to find himself and the courage to handle the illness that was presented before him. But he didn't. I personally would have left the illness out of the book entirely.
Overall, this was a good historical fiction book for young adults. I think many students would enjoy this book especially in the fourth to sixth grade range. I give this 4 stars and will be putting this in my classroom library.
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