Crabbe's Journey [Hardcover]

William Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1987

Feeling misunderstood at home and at school, Crabbe, a wealthy Canadian teenager, runs off to live in the woods where he meets a mysterious woman who teaches him about outdoor survival and taking responsibility for one's life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8-12 When he left home, 18-year-old Franklin Crabbe was a troubled teenager with low self-esteem and an increasing alcohol problem, and he was alienated by parents who spoiled and patronized him. He decides he needs to be alone for an extended period of time; his destination: the Canadian wilderness. After his canoe capsizes in a rapid river current, he is found and nursed back to life by Mary, a young woman whom he learns later is also a runaway. From Mary, Crabbe learns not only the skills of wilderness survival, but also what it means to respect yourself and be in control of your life. Crabbe ends his self-imposed exile after Mary is killed in a fall. Meeting his emotionally depleted parents for the first time in a year, he absolves them of guilt and gets them to begin to accept him on his terms rather than theirs. Although it has its moving and exciting moments, this fictionalized diary is written matter-of-factly, and it reads more like a message-laden case study (albeit in the first person) than a survival adventure. Nonetheless, it deals with concerns of great interest to middle-class teenagersalienation, the testing of one's self, and aspirations of independence. Therefore, despite its stylistic weaknesses, Crabbe's Journey will have a captive audience. Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 169 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (Juv); 1St Edition edition (May 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316088374
• ISBN-13: 978-0316088374
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,056,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It was alright, but..., March 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Crabbe's Journey (Hardcover)

This is a novel about a young, semi-alcoholic teenager, who decides to run away from home because he has difficulty getting along with his parents, family, friends and teachers. Crabbe, a straight A students, decides to leave home the night before his final exams and graduation. He runs out to the forest and there he has great difficulty surviving, until he meets Mary, a young woman who is also running away, but for much different reasons. Mary teaches Crabbe how to survive in the wild, and provides Crabbe with comfort. At the end of the novel, many interesting twists and turns happen, and the ending is something that very few would expect.

Though this book could be very profound at times, it was also boring in others. I had to read this novel in grade 9 for a project, and because I had to do work on it, that could explain why I did not enjoy it as much as I could have.

If this novel sounds interesting to you, take a chance and buy it, you might enjoy it more than me.