Northwind

A high-stakes middle grade novel from the survival story master, about a boy on the knife's edge between life and death where the high seas meet a coastal wilderness.

This stunning historical adventure, set on the rugged edges of Norway five centuries ago, does for the sea what Hatchet did for the woods-relating the story of a young person's battle to stay alive against the odds. As a deathly plague decimates his fishing village, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. Fleeing northward along a stunning but unforgiving landscape, the boy finds his strength and truest self the deeper into his journey he paddles, connecting with 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 arresting, adventuresome best.