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A review by hickorynut
Northwind by Gary Paulsen
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
This was a simple survival story of a boy named Leif raised in the roughest circumstances by sailors and the poorest townspeople. When disease takes his community, Leif sets sail in a canoe, heading north in search of an unknown better life. At first accompanied by another young boy, he ends up responsible for finding and creating the boy's final resting place.
The vast majority of Leif's survival story is him navigating the shorelines in search of blackberries, salmon, and safe spots to set up temporary camps away from hungry predators. After encounters with bear, he prefers making his temporary camps on small islands, smoking salmon strips to eat while he travels. The focus is largely on that same set of goals: blackberries, salmon, temporary camps, and continuing on in his canoe. The repetitiveness helps strengthen the reality of how survival takes up every second.
It's been years since I've read The Hatchet by this author so I'll have to do a reread to compare them. The first section of this book that gave a brief overview of Leif's childhood and background was printed in a font that seemed to be a nod to Nordic design, but was difficult to read for someone with vision issues. I definitely struggled to take in that section and those details.
The vast majority of Leif's survival story is him navigating the shorelines in search of blackberries, salmon, and safe spots to set up temporary camps away from hungry predators. After encounters with bear, he prefers making his temporary camps on small islands, smoking salmon strips to eat while he travels. The focus is largely on that same set of goals: blackberries, salmon, temporary camps, and continuing on in his canoe.
It's been years since I've read The Hatchet by this author so I'll have to do a reread to compare them. The first section of this book that gave a brief overview of Leif's childhood and background was printed in a font that seemed to be a nod to Nordic design, but was difficult to read for someone with vision issues. I definitely struggled to take in that section and those details.