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A review by the_tomeraider
Northwind by Gary Paulsen
adventurous
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Northwind by Gary Paulsen is an adventure through the sea like Hatchet is an adventure through the forest.
Though, with this book, even at times of conflict there is a lot more calm then I felt when I read Hatchet. The tone and formatting give the book this dreamy, story like appearence in contrast to the first person gritty survival seen in Hatchet. I found that I really enjoyed the change in pace. It was a relaxing read about connecting with nature and a boy's journey, his fight with grief and his discovery of a new home. The writing style really sold me on the environment and the culture. I felt really connected with that throughout the duration of the book and that was by far my favorite part.
The stakes where just hard to be invested in, because of that dream like quality and I found that that detracted from my enjoyment of the book slightly, though only slightly. The dream like quality added more than it detracted from the story though. The author's supposion of himself onto Leif is obvious and Leif feels less like a young boy and more like a very wise teenager at best and a man in his late 20s at worst.
Despite those minor flaws, for a beautiful journey I would recommend this book to anyone. It's an easy and fast read in a beautiful setting with a great message. I highly recommend reading the author's note as well. It added a lot of context to the story and its formation that helped clairfy things that I found to be interesting style choices when I was reading.
Though, with this book, even at times of conflict there is a lot more calm then I felt when I read Hatchet. The tone and formatting give the book this dreamy, story like appearence in contrast to the first person gritty survival seen in Hatchet. I found that I really enjoyed the change in pace. It was a relaxing read about connecting with nature and a boy's journey, his fight with grief and his discovery of a new home. The writing style really sold me on the environment and the culture. I felt really connected with that throughout the duration of the book and that was by far my favorite part.
The stakes where just hard to be invested in, because of that dream like quality and I found that that detracted from my enjoyment of the book slightly, though only slightly. The dream like quality added more than it detracted from the story though. The author's supposion of himself onto Leif is obvious and Leif feels less like a young boy and more like a very wise teenager at best and a man in his late 20s at worst.
Despite those minor flaws, for a beautiful journey I would recommend this book to anyone. It's an easy and fast read in a beautiful setting with a great message. I highly recommend reading the author's note as well. It added a lot of context to the story and its formation that helped clairfy things that I found to be interesting style choices when I was reading.