A brutal test of survival

Long ago kids had to grow up fast, and that was certainly true for the main character in Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen.  Samuel is 13 and lives in a woodland settlement during the time of the American Revolution.  He's a woods runner - someone very familiar with the plants, animals, and rhythms of the forest.  One day he comes home from hunting and sees the settlement burned down, his neighbors killed, and his parents missing.  Depending on his survival skills, knowledge of the wilderness, and help from strangers he meets along the way, Samuel is determined to rescue his parents, who were kidnapped by a group of British soldiers and Iroquois Indians.  Paulsen is an accomplished writer of this genre, and this time he intersperses the story with brief nonfiction pieces of information that relate well to the story line, such as weapons, war orphans, and prisoners war.  This book will grab your attention and keep it.