Northwind

Gary Paulsen's "Northwind" tells the gripping story of Leif, a young orphan whose life is upended when a devastating sickness wipes out his entire fishing village. Forced to flee alone in a cedar canoe, Leif embarks on a harrowing journey along a wild, unforgiving coastline. This middle grade novel explores themes of survival, grief, resilience, and the profound loneliness of being an orphan. It's a powerful narrative about finding inner strength in the face of immense loss and the beauty of the natural world, even in its harshness. Ideal for readers aged 8-12, it offers a compelling look at human endurance.

When sickness decimates his fishing village, an orphan named Leif flees north in a cedar canoe, journeying along a brutal but beautiful coastline.