Woods Runner, written by Gary Paulsen, is an exciting and suspenseful novel pursuing the adventure of Samuel, a thirteen year old boy whose life is forever changed when his small, isolated cabin on the outskirts of Pennsylvania is raided by British soldiers and his parents are taken as prisoners while he was out hunting. Using his vast knowledge of the forest, and a few allies he meets along the way, he tries to save his parents, but not without experiencing the cruelty of the revolutionary war first-hand.
At first, I disliked the book - it felt like a long time between the start of the exposition and the inciting event. But the further I read into the plot, the more invested I got. From what I understand, the reason this novel was written was to highlight the overlooked truths of the war. After all, people usually only write about the dramatic or appealing acts of heroism (or in this case patriotism). One thing that I feel I must add is that I found this book in the kids section. Even though this is unrelated to the book itself, Gary Paulsen did include enough details to create graphic images in the mind of the readers, so I do not agree with this decision for the sake of a child that might stumble upon this.
I recommend this book to teens and adults that enjoy action-packed and suspenseful novels. All in all, Woods Runner is a really good read.