Canyons [Hardcover]

Gary Paulsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1992 | ISBN-10: 0844665908 | ISBN-13: 978-0844665900

Two boys, separated by the canyons of time and two vastly different cultures, face the challenges by which they become men.

Coyote Runs, an Apache boy, takes part in his first raid -- the one that will usher him into manhood. He is to be a man for but a short time....

More than a hundred years later, while camping near Dog Canyon, fifteen-year-old Brennan Cole becomes obsessed with a skull that he finds, pierced by a bullet. He learns that it was the skull of an Apache boy executed by soldiers in 1864. A mystical link joins Brennan and Coyote Runs, and Brennan knows that neither boy will find any peace until Coyote Runs' skull is returned to an ancient sacred place. In a grueling run through the canyon to return the skull, Brennan faces the challenge of his life.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Brennan is a young loner of the type that will be instantly familiar to Paulsen fans. Coyote Runs is a 19th-century Apache boy who was murdered during the raid that was to mark his entry into manhood. The two boys' stories come together when Brennan unearths Coyote Runs's skull and grows obsessed with the Apache's history. A sort of psychic link is forged, and Brennan learns that Coyote Runs's spirit will have no rest until his skull is taken to a sacred spot in the canyons. Brennan therefore undertakes a grueling and unusual journey which serves as a modern-day coming-of-age ritual. Terse language keeps the story moving at a brisk pace. This novel is not as engrossing as Hatchet , nor is it likely to appeal to as wide an audience. However, readers with an appetite for Paulsen's blend of nature and mysticism will overlook Canyons 's predictable plot and find much to savor in its spirit. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Cornered in a canyon during his first coming-of-age horse raid, a young Apache brave, Coyote Runs, is shot execution-style by soldiers from Fort Bliss. One hundred years later, Brennan Cole discovers a skull with a hole through its forehead in a canyon where he's been camping and becomes obsessed by the need to find out the who, what, and why of the skull. With the help of a pathologist, his high-school biology teacher, and someone from the Western Historical Archives in Denver, Brennan pieces the story together. The bond between the two boys, a century apart in time but so close in age and spirit, grows stronger as Brennan now searches for the final answer: why is Coyote Runs' spirit so restless, and what does it want of him? Brennan's realization that only when Coyote Runs' haunting and haunted soul is at peace will his own disturbed self find peace climaxes in his own coming-of-age challenge. Paulsen involves readers so deeply in the lives of both characters, telling the story in alternating chapters marked by the cadence and language distinctive to each boy and his time and place, that the whole becomes a compelling and dramatic experience that is powerful stuff. Although this is, at times, overwritten and affected--almost a parody of Hemingway--it will be new and unforgettable to today's readers. --Marjorie Lewis, Scarsdale Junior High School, NY
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Peter Smith Pub Inc (December 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844665908
• ISBN-13: 978-0844665900
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,873,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary Paulsen is one of the most honored writers of contemporary literature for young readers. He has written more than one hundred book for adults and young readers, and is the author of three Newberry Honor titles: Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room. He divides his time among Alaska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and the Pacific.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that gets better and better as you read it, November 15, 2000

By 

jasenao (Dothan, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canyons (Mass Market Paperback)

"Canyons" is an interesting book and it's one of Gary Paulsen's best. Coyote Runs was a young Apache Indian that was just going through the ritual of becoming a man when he got killed by some soldiers. About 100 years later, a fourteen year old boy named Brennan finds Coyote Runs's skull while on a camping trip in the canyons. He gets attached to the skull once he starts hearing mysterious voices that are like spirits speaking to him from the skull. Brennan wants to find out more about the skull. Eventually he decides to do something with it and he won't let anybody stand in his way until he does it.

"Canyons" is a good and compelling book. Gary Paulsen alternately tells the story of Coyote Runs and Brennan, and eventually brings their two stories together to make the book even better. There are several high points in the story that seem like they're the climax of "Canyons," but as you read on you'll read even better parts, making it all the more compelling. If you like good adventure books, I definitely recommend reading "Canyons."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Canyons by Paulsen, November 26, 2000, November 26, 2000

By 

Hunter Harper (Thomasville, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canyons (Mass Market Paperback)

The novel, Canyons by Gary Paulsen is one of the best novels I've ever read. The beginning is rather strange because the author switches between two story lines and two characters in each chapter. One chapter will be about an American boy, Brennan Cole, then the next one tells about an Apache boy, Coyote Runs. Until the reader realizes this, it is a little confusing because Brennan is living in the present and Coyote Runs lived in the past. This writing style made me wonder what the two could possibly have in common. Not too far into the book, though, the story becomes very clear. As the book begins, Coyote Runs is searching for his manhood. He is anxious to take part in his first raid, hoping that the success will make him worthy of being considered a man and not a boy anymore. The raid starts out very well but in later chapters it turns sour and Coyote Runs is killed. The murder occurs in a savage way near Dog Canyon. As the life of Brennan Cole is introduced into the book, the reader eventually sees how the two lives are joined. Brennan takes a camping trip to Dog Canyon with his mother, her boyfriend, Bill, and some youth from Bill's church. While trying to get some relief from the other campers, Brennan goes to sleep in a secluded place away from them. When he wakes up, Brennan realizes he is lying on top of a skull, which he secretly takes home with him. It is during this night that the excitement and eerie feelings begin. The rest of the book leaves the reader in complete suspense as Brennan searches for answers to his many questions concerning the skull and his obsession with it. The way the author, Gary Paulsen tells the story, it makes the idea of the "Indian spirit" very believable. The words he uses and the way he repeats them, made me feel like I was running with the skull myself, just like Brennan Cole. The novel, Canyons is a very exciting, mysterious adventure that I would recommend to any reader.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Separated by 100 Years, October 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Canyons (Mass Market Paperback)

A Review by Karina

Coyote Runs is an Apache Boy who has just become a man, but soon after, soldiers attack his group. Coyote Runs is `executed' with a bullet to his skull. About one hundred years later Brennan is camping near Dog Canyon and finds a skull pierced by a bullet in the forehead. Brennan is mentally taken over by the skull and soon he realizes that he must take it back to its sacred resting place in Dog Canyon. Canyons is about how Brennan must use everyday skills to solve a big mystery.

One thing that sets this book aside from most of Paulsen's books is that the conflict is somewhat internal between Brennan and what the skull is telling him to do... and who to be. That's one of the concepts that I really enjoy about this book. The suspense is supreme in Canyons because even in the beginning Paulsen doesn't introduce the characters through everyday events, but through action. When Brennan is running I can feel as though I'm right with him because of the excruciating detail! However, the difficulty was low mostly because of the elementary vocabulary. The climax is well organized, but I dislike how it ends in a drop off. There is a resolution, however no note to how Brennan's life continues.

If you really enjoy a book that you can't put down because of suspense and mystery then Canyons will be a great read for you! Plus it's one of the great books where the main character is intelligent and uses everyday problem solving skills, not super powers!