126 reviews for:

Woods Runner

Gary Paulsen

3.55 AVERAGE

adventurous dark informative tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

My boys were fascinated by this adventure/survival story about a 13 year old boy named Samuel, whose parents have been kidnapped by the British/Indians during the revolutionary war. Samuel sets off after them and the book chronicles his journey to find and rescue his parents. The book is both entertaining and educational, as Paulsen includes a history note between each chapter. It also doesn't shy away from the brutality of the time, but it's done in an age appropriate way.

Much more fast-paced than I remember, but hey just like I remember. Annie still my favorite <3
coley_reads's profile picture

coley_reads's review

2.5
adventurous emotional informative sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Wow! Paulsen has written a riveting account of a 13-year-old's experience of the Revolutionary War.
Samuel and his family moved to the woods of colonial Pennsylvania to escape the hubbub of town life. When they hear about Lexington and Concord, they think it's too far away to concern them. They are so wrong.
Samuel, who is a gifted and intuitive woodsman, and who hunts for the whole settlement of a few families, sees smoke and returns home to find nearly everyone brutally murdered by British soldiers and Indians; his parents have been taken captive. They will be taken to New York, which was then held by the British. Is there any way for him to rescue them? How can he not try?
I couldn't put this down. After each chapter, Paulsen has cleverly added brief factual explanations of communications, weapons, political moods, countries involved, spies, etc. These add background information that may surprise readers and deepen their understanding, without bogging down the flow of the story. They actually add a little suspense.
But make no mistake--Paulsen is not glorifying war. He makes it very clear that war is a nightmare, and that civilians suffer much more than history normally records. This is an eye-opening treatment of a "familiar" period in our history, one that will resonate with readers for quite a while.
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After being forced to read Hatchet in middle school (or maybe it was read aloud?) I swore off Gary Paulsen. Until this one made it onto the Mock Newbery list this year and I had to give him a second chance. He's still not my cup of tea, but I can respect what he does and the appeal that his stories have for lots of readers - to the point, visceral, often brutal. There's not a lot of pretty shiny language here, and the character development is sometimes slim, but the pace is gripping. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the non-fiction interludes worked - they could have been choppy, falling in between the chapters, but they gave key information with info-dumping into the storyline, and they gave me a chance to catch my breath before jumping back in. Not the best thing ever, but it succeeds at what it sets out to do.
adventurous informative reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This story starts slow, contains some violence, but I really like the historical context at the end of each chapter.

This is an interesting supplement to other books about the Revolutionary War. It isn't my favorite Paulsen book, but it is worthwhile.
adventurous dark informative medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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