Northwind

Ages 10 to 14

In the style of the masterful Hatchet, this is another high-stakes middle grade from Gary Paulsen about a boy on the knife's edge between life and death where raging seas meet a northern wilderness.

This stunning historical adventure, set along a rugged coastline centuries ago, does for the sea what Hatchet did for the woods, as it relates the story of a young person’s battle to stay alive against the odds. When a deadly plague decimates his fishing village, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, navigating from one danger to the next. The deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer he comes to his truest self as he connects to the heartbeat of the ocean, the pulse of the landscape. With hints of Nordic mythology and an irresistible narrative pull, Northwind is Gary Paulsen at his captivating, adventuresome best.

About the Author

Gary Paulsen lives in New Mexico and is a three-time Newbery Honor winner, for Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room. The voyage described in Northwind parallels the author’s own sailing adventures, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.