White Fang, by Jack London

This book is about a rough dog named White Fang, who’s actually three-quarters wolf.  Born in the wilds of Canada’s Yukon Territory, White Fang survives by moving between Indian tribes, ferocious wolf packs and even a dog-fighting ring.  White Fang’s struggles finally come to an end when a gold prospector buys the dog and brings him onward to California.  There, a warm, sunny retirement awaits…or does it?

One of the things I like best about Mr. London’s writing is the fact that he doesn’t shy away from depicting the grisly realities of life on the frontier.  Tough men headed west expecting to live a tough live, and by all accounts they weren’t disappointed.  This book is written in a similar style, although I do have to say that the depictions of violence and cruelty aren’t too excessive.  If anything, this book is an accurate depiction of what frontier life must have been like, and it doesn’t hurt one bit that the main character is a heroic dog! 

Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

I expect an unusual amount of adventure from my books if the main character is a boy named Huckleberry, and this classic surely didn’t disappoint.  Huck Finn lived in the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, a frontier town where danger waits on its borders.  When Huck’s alcoholic father kidnaps him from his new court-appointed guardian, it’s up to Huck and his friend Tom Sawyer to make their escape.  Once free in the wild, the boys partner up with Jim, a runaway slave, and set off on a mission to help him free his own family.

One fact that’s often overlooks in this classic adventure story is the downright brutality of everyday life in the frontier South.  The original book has been banned many times for its use of the word “nigger”, and subsequent versions have been edited to remove this phrase.  As with most of Mr. Twain’s other works, though, the author is not known for pulling any punches with his writing.  His stories and books are often gritty, but they are always honest.  Huck Finn, one of the best examples of Mr. Twain’s writing, is certainly no different.  

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen

Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old boy, the son of divorced parents.  While traveling through Canada on a Cessna plane to meet his father for the summer, the pilot suffers a massive heart attack and dies.  Brian survives a crash-landing in the forest, leaving him stranded on his own with nothing to help him survive…except for a single hatchet.

“Hatchet” is a fast-paced adventure story which is considered to be one of today’s must-read books for young men, although I’m ashamed to say I never read it before now.  It’s a fast-paced story in which a seemingly endless series of challenges are thrown at Brian, one after another.  In fact, the only thing I really didn’t care for with this book was the way that it all seemed so unfair!  After surviving a traumatic plane crash, you’d think the last thing Brian would have to worry about would be dying from starvation or exposure!

Mr. Paulsen’s book proved so popular that he went on to write another four books in the “Hatchet” series, which collectively became known as “Brian’s Saga”.  I’m planning to move on to the first sequel in the series soon, if only to find out what kind of adventures Brian will be thrown into next.  Even though it never seems fair when it’s the entire world against one boy, these hopeless situations sure make for a great story!  “Hatchet” gets my strongest recommendation, so be sure to pick up your copy today.    

Hard Gold, by AVI

Early Whitcomb comes from the state of Iowa, where he’s never traveled very far from his family’s farm.  That all changes during the droughts of 1859, when his father falls behind on the mortgage and the local bank threatens to foreclose on their land.  Left with no other choice, Early heads out west to track down his cousin Jesse, who had set off to Colorado in search of gold.  Along the way he discovers that Jesse is actually wanted for robbery, and that law and order have a completely different look in the Wild West!

Although Early’s story only concerns his family and friends, it takes place at a very busy time in our country’s history.  John Brown’s raid on the town of Harper’s Ferry served to spark a heated discussion about slavery, and southern states were seriously considering secession.  I thought that the author did an awesome job of painting these historical events into the background, while still keeping the focus on Early.  I also appreciated all the details that were included in this adventure.  It’s one thing to know that covered wagons traveled for months at a time, but when you start to think about what these settlers ate and where they slept, you almost start to feel as if you’re right there alongside them!

I love reading about this period in American history since it seems like adventure was around every corner, for better or for worse!  It still amazes me to think of how settlers could take such a huge risk in search of a better life with absolutely no guarantee of success.  If you had everything you own piled into a covered wagon and were traveling to someplace new, do you think that you might be just a little worried about what lay ahead?  What might you do if things didn’t work out? 

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

Sometime in the not-so-distant future, Earth has survived two invasion attempts from an alien species known only as “The Buggers”.  In anticipation of another onslaught, the nations of Earth create an international space fleet to defend themselves.  As a young child, Ender Wiggin is selected for training at their academy, where he learns the fundamentals of combat by participating in battles against other student armies.               

I’ve never really been a huge reader of science fiction, but I strongly recommend this book because of the underlying themes.  Younger readers might want to hold off because there is some violence, as well as some curse words, but probably nothing that your average fifteen- or sixteen-year old young man hasn’t been exposed to already.  Besides, anyone who’s overly disturbed by these things has obviously missed the whole point of the novel.  “Ender’s Game” doesn’t just have my recommendation--- it’s also endorsed by the US Marine Corps, and it’s required reading for their officer candidates!

“Ender’s Game” is a book that I would recommend for almost all high-school boys, but especially for any of them who’ve ever considered joining the military.  I had the unfortunate opportunity to see combat in Iraq, and for me, it was a life-changing experience.  By putting the realities of warfare into a fictional setting, the author allows us to get a huge amount of insight into what war really is.

Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls

Billy Coleman lives in rural Arkansas.  As the only boy in his family, he enjoys hunting in the great outdoors and desperately wants to buy a pair of dogs.  When his father tells him that they just can’t afford two redbone coonhounds, Billy works for two years to save up the money himself.  Billy names them Old Dan and Little Ann, and they quickly become the best coonhounds in the state.  Since his family still struggles to make ends meet, Billy turns to hunting raccoons in order to sell their furs and provide a better life for his little sisters.

I really enjoyed how the author really lets the reader peek into Billy’s mind, instead of just stereotyping him as a “hillbilly”.  Billy doesn’t attend school and gets mocked for his appearance whenever he goes into town, but he’s actually just as smart as any other kid his age.  More so, he’s a genius when it comes to outdoor skills, like hunting raccoons and surviving in the wild.

This is a classic book for boys, but I wonder how girls might feel about it since it’s really a story about a boy and his dogs—nothing more!  Yes, Billy has three sisters, but they’re really only supporting characters in the book.  In fact, none of the girls are even given names!  I think that Mr. Rawls must have left them nameless on purpose, if only to emphasize just how strongly Billy felt about his dogs.  To Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann were so much more than just his pets.

The Great Brain, by John D. Fitzgerald

“The Great Brain” is the first in a series of seven books set in Utah, just before the year 1900.  This was also one of my favorite books when I was in school, so it was awesome that I got to read it again for a review on this blog.  The narrator, John, shares stories about his older brother Tom, who claims to be the smartest kid in town.  Even though I’d imagine that these stories probably have some fiction in them, Mr. Fitzgerald presents them as his true-to-life memoirs.

I love reading about different historical eras, and I’d imagine that story-telling was a popular pastime in the days before radio and television.  Young John begins the book with a story about how his family was the first in town to have an indoor flushing toilet installed in their home.  The neighbors came from miles around to see this wonder, and Tom’s great brain came up with the idea of charging admission.  Despite John’s worst fears, the toilet didn’t explode!  The house didn’t stink or flood over, either.

Mr. Fitzgerald doesn’t shy away from some of the hard realities of life on the frontier, which often included religious conflicts between Mormons and other faiths.  Alcohol abuse, missing children, a suicide attempt, and other mature subjects are also part of John and Tom’s daily lives.  On re-reading this book, it occurred to me that it almost might be more appropriate for young adults rather than middle-grade readers.  Still, Mr. Fitzgerald presents these issues very matter-of-factly, and I think his intent was to show his readers the obstacles that a normal ten-year-old boy like John would have faced.

“The Great Brain” is one of the few books that I’d say all boys absolutely must read, but it’s appropriate for readers of any age who enjoy adventure stories and problem solving!

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

“The Call of the Wild” is the story of Buck, a dog who gets stolen and shipped off to Alaska where he’s forced to work as a sled dog.  Over time, Buck transforms himself from a house-pet into a rough, hardworking dog.   Eventually, Buck comes to embrace the tough life of a sled dog, and decides that he’s meant to live wild and free.

For me, one of the most interesting things about “Call of the Wild” is the way that Jack London makes Buck the main character.  It’s nice to read the book and discover what a dog might actually be thinking and feeling, especially during the times that Buck spends working with humans.  I also liked seeing how Buck changed as a dog, as he went from being a house pet to living in the wild. 

The author goes into a lot of detail about the tough living conditions that the gold prospectors and other frontiersmen endured during this period in history.   Moving so far away from civilization was a dangerous situation, and Jack London tells us about the incidents of crime and violence that were part of everyday life.  Sometimes it’s hard to read about animal abuse and cruel behavior, but I think that Mr. London is showing his readers a certain respect by being both gritty and factual.

 “Call of the Wild” is a very short book, but it really gives you a lot to think about when you’re finished.  How do you think you would fare if you were living and working on the cold, wild frontier?