Gr 6-9 Samuel, 13, lives in the British colony of Pennsylvania. He spends his days exploring and hunting in the woods far from civilization. His father wants to live a quiet life learning to use tools and build a house, while his mother tries to get the garden to grow. There are rumors that American patriots have begun a bloody war against the English but news takes weeks to arrive and the fighting seems far away from the peaceful frontier. Suddenly, the war comes to Samuel. While he is hunting, British soldiers and Iroquois attack, taking Samuel's parents prisoner and killing many in the settlement. He follows their trail determined to rescue them. Paulsen takes readers inside the reality of this war, revealing the horrific conditions of the civilians who were taken prisoner. Between each chapter Paulsen includes information on various aspects of the war such as weapons, civilian deaths, orphans, and communication. Through Samuel's story, readers discover the brutality and cost of war. In the afterword, the author informs readers that he is not attempting to write the history of the Revolutionary War but instead to clarify some aspects of it. His story will leave readers with a new sense of admiration for those who lost their lives in the creation of the nation. This fast-paced novel will appeal to Paulsen fans and is a good choice for reluctant readers."Denise Moore, O'Gorman Junior High School, Sioux Falls, SD" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
Samuel, thirteen, finds the survival skills he's learned in the deep forest put to new use when the Revolution reaches his family's western Pennsylvania homestead. The setting is far removed from those more frequently used for historical fiction about 1776, and Paulsen gets to deploy his talent for wilderness adventure. The narrative is interspersed with brief nonfiction sections that straightforwardly inform the story.
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