Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen: Review by Andrew W.

Samuel is a thirteen-year-old boy who lives in America as the Revolutionary War is beginning. His family’s property is right next to a forest, which is where Samuel spends most of his time. He hunts for bears, deer, and other creatures that bother his neighbors (such as wolves). One day, when he is in the woods, the British attack his family’s and neighbors’ property, killing most, but keeping several, including Samuel’s parents, alive as prisoners. Samuel, upon returning and finding a destroyed home, pursues his parents’ captors. He finds that Iroquois natives are with the British. Two of them find Samuel when he is near their camp, and attack him. He shoots one with his hunting rifle, but the second knocks him out with his tomahawk. When Samuel wakes up, he finds himself in a rebel camp. Several of the rebels had seen what happened to Samuel and got rid of the Iroquois native. Eventually, though, Samuel leaves to rescue his parents from New York, New York, which has become a British prisoner city. He meets up with some unexpected friends along the way who help him. It is around this time that Samuel discovers his parents were spared because the British officer who attacked them saw a chessboard in their house, and wanted someone to play chess with.
I really like this fiction book because it is fast paced and exciting all the way through. After each chapter is a paragraph or two about what something was like in that time period. Usually, it has to do with something that happened in the chapter. This is a great book.