Far North [Kindle Edition]

Will Hobbs (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Those insatiable fans of Hatchet are the likeliest audience for this winter survival tale, which weds its adventure-seeking thrills to education about Dene Indian culture. Fifteen-year-old Gabe, a Texan, enrolls in a boarding school in Canada's Northwest Territories to be near his father, whose love of the wilderness has become infectious. But Gabe gets more than he bargained for when an airplane accident leaves him and his roommate Raymond, a Dene, stranded near the fierce Nahanni River at the start of a long winter. Guided by their fellow survivor Johnny Raven, a Dene elder, Gabe and Raymond learn to hunt beavers, trap rabbits and make snowshoes and mittens from animal hide. More significantly, they learn respect for ancient Dene beliefs. When Raven dies of the cold, the two boys must struggle out of Deadmen Valley on their own. Predictably sentimental, Hobbs's (Beardance) fast-moving tale nonetheless delivers breathless action and an inspiring sense of Canada's vast landscape. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up?From the compelling cover illustration to the terrifying and plausible details, this survival adventure clearly demonstrates the author's love for and familiarity with the northern wilderness. Gabe, 15, formerly of San Antonio, enrolls in a boarding school in Canada's Northwest Territories to be closer to his father, an oil field worker. Gabe's likable but depressed roommate, Raymond, is an Athapascan Indian. A map helps readers follow along as circumstances involving a plane crash leave the teens and Johnny Raven, an elder from Raymond's village, stranded with minimal supplies as winter hardens. The plotting is fast paced and action filled as the teens' cultures clash, and as they struggle against the cold, blizzards, isolation, starvation, injury, a wolverine, grizzly bear, and Johnny's death before finally reaching safety. The weakest elements of the book may be the sermonlike "testament" the boys find in Johnny's pocket after his death, and the thread of mythic raven lore that is mentioned, then given up before becoming a major element again. Quibbles aside, with echoes as old as Jean Craighead George's classic My Side of the Mountain (Dutton, 1988) and reverberations from Paulsen and Phleger, this satisfying tale will engage YAs' hearts and minds.?Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 355 KB
• Publisher: HarperCollins (October 13, 2009)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002R2OFCS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,954 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

WILL HOBBS is the author of eighteen exciting outdoor adventure novels for upper elementary, middle school and young adult readers, as well as two picture book stories. Seven of his novels have been named Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and Ghost Canoe, Will's first mystery, won the Edgar Allan Poe national award for Best Young Adult Mystery. The ALA's list of the "100 Best Young Adult Books of the 20th Century" includes two of Will's titles: Far North and Downriver.

A graduate of Stanford University and a former reading and language arts teacher, Will lives with his wife, Jean, in Durango, Colorado. Visit Will's website at www.willhobbsauthor.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You cant go without reading this book, February 25, 2000

By 

jimmy (Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Far North (Hardcover)

If you like intriguing books about wilderness and how people survive on their own, then youíll like this book about Gabe and Raymond and how they survive on their wild adventure in the Northern Canadian wilderness. This book is about Gabe and Raymond; two teenage boys fighting to survive in Northern Canada. Their plane goes off a cliff, and the pilot dies. They were starving and hadnít had any food for days. When Raymondís uncle goes out hunting for a moose he has a heart attack and dies as well. I liked this book a lot. It started out slow, but picked up quickly. I liked it because it was a good action adventure, with a lot of twists and turns. I also liked the descriptive writing of the author. My favorite part of the book was when Raymond killed a mountain sheep with an ax. I also like when the winter bear shows up and catches Gabe and Raymond in a tree.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!!!, May 28, 2007

By 

A. Mozzini (California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Far North (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book to use in a literature unit with two 8th-grade homeschoolers, one an avid reader, and the other a very reluctant reader. The book was a hit with both! The reluctant reader even started reading ahead on his own because he wanted to find out how the story turned out. The story stimulated some great discussions on literary technique (foreshadowing, cliffhangers), social and cultural ideas, wilderness survival, making choices, and gaining maturity through adversity. There were also lots of opporunities to expand the boys' vocabulary.

We highly recommend this book!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting, fascinating, scary, can't-stop-reading book., February 18, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Blandon, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Far North (Mass Market Paperback)

I recently read Far North for a book report assignment for school. I chose this book because I like Canada. I could not put this book down. It is such an exciting adventure story, and I would recommend this book for anyone who likes wilderness adventures. (Ryan Groth, age 14)