Publisher's Weekly Review
Here's a real knock 'em, sock 'em, ripsnorter guaranteed to keep any boy (and any girl who doesn't mind a dearth of female characters) enthralled from first page through last. In 1848, a 14-year-old boy is captured from an Oregon-bound wagon train by Pawnee Indians and saved by one-armed mountain man Mr. Grimes. Paulsen ( Hatchet ) throws in enough ridin', wrasslin' and shootin' (along with plenty of dead bodies, white and Indian) to satiate the most action-loving reader. But his book is more than an impeccably detailed homage to the Saturday-afternoon horse opera. Although Braid, a Pawnee warrior, is without question the bad guy here, Paulsen makes it clear that, by settling on the Indians' land, even the most peaceable white farmers--such as protagonist Francis Alphonse Tucket's family--disqualify themselves as good guys. And the author plants doubts as to whether Grimes, who trades ammunition with the Pawnee in exchange for trapping on their land, really does ``ride right down the middle'' between the white and Indian worlds, as he claims. Superb characterizations, splendidly evoked setting and thrill-a-minute plot make this book a joy to gallop through. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Fiction: O Traveling westward by wagon train, fourteen-year-old Francis Tucket is captured by Pawnee Indians and then rescued by a mountain man, who teaches Francis some lessons about survival and what he wants from the future. The unpretentious, exciting story is told with Paulsen's characteristic skill. Horn Rating: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration. Reviewed by: pds (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6-9. Francis Tucket is 14 years old when he strays from his family's wagon on the Oregon Trail and is captured by the Pawnee. With the help of Mr. Grimes, a one-armed trapper who maintains an uneasy truce with the Pawnee by trading them guns and ammunition, Francis escapes and spends a winter learning to survive by living off the land. The boy's admiration and respect for Mr. Grimes causes him to question his role in "civilized" society and delays his return to his family. Francis' image of Mr. Grimes is altered forever, however, when Grimes takes revenge on an old enemy with what Francis sees as unnecessary savagery. Paulsen nods in the direction of responsibility in his depiction of Native American peoples, and he gives us a fast plot and sufficient character development. Unfortunately, he wraps everything up in the final two and one-half pages, resulting in an abrupt "surprise" ending that is ultimately unsatisfying. ~--Janice Del Negro
