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 does 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, unsure of his destination. Yet 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 sea." With hints of Nordic mythology and an irresistible narrative pull, Northwind is Gary Paulsen at his captivating, adventuresome best.

About the Author

Gary Paulsen (1939–2021) wrote more than two hundred books for children and adults, including the recent father-son comedy How to Train Your Dad, and the acclaimed memoir Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood. Three of his novels—Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room—were Newbery Honor books. In 1997, he received the ALA’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for his contribution to young adult literature. His books have sold over 35 million copies around the world. The journey described in Northwind is partly inspired by the author's own sailing adventures, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. garypaulsenauthor.com