Review: Woods Runner (Paulsen)

Title: Woods Runner
Author: Paulsen
Genre: War, Survival, Historical Fiction
Pages: 176
Rating: 5 out of 5


This is Gary Paulsen at his best. Do I really even need to say more? Adventure, war, and survival all wrapped up in one short historical fiction novel.  If you want to read about how the Revolutionary War really affected families in Colonial America, this is one you must read.
Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. But the war comes to them. British soldiers and Iroquois attack. Samuel’s parents are taken away as prisoners. Samuel follows, hiding, moving silently, determined to find a way to rescue them. Each day he confronts the enemy, and the tragedy and horror of this war. But he also discovers allies, men and women working secretly for the patriot cause. And he learns that he must go deep into enemy territory to find his parents.