Northwind

 
　　致命的瘟疫席捲而來，12歲的孤兒萊夫被迫乘著獨木舟向北逃。儘管現在是初夏時分，但萊夫完全沒有任何補給品，一路上得靠著野莓和鮭魚維生，還得蜿蜒著穿過無窮無盡的峽灣以及小島，面對可怕的熊與鯨魚，掙扎在一個又一個致命的漩渦中。
 
　　漫無目的、也不知道即將面對什麼危險，一路上，孤獨的萊夫將所有經歷刻在一塊木頭上，夢想著他從未見過面的母親。對萊夫來說，只要他越深入這片海洋，就越了解真實的自己——他意識到，對他來說，世上沒有任何安全的地方，但廣闊的世界卻能任他探索，而這探索的過程，彷彿將他與大海的心跳聯繫在一起……
　
　　以《手斧男孩》Hatchet系列勇奪紐伯瑞文學獎的暢銷作家蓋瑞．伯森（Gary Paulsen），以挪威移民祖母的故事為本，再次為讀者帶來精采的荒野冒險和奇蹟生存故事。書中除了萊夫的冒險之外，也描寫了壯麗的北歐群島景觀，展示大海的永恆美麗。北歐神話加上充滿吸引力的故事，蓋瑞．伯森再次創造出一個令人驚嘆的勇敢故事。

This stunning New York Times Bestseller from the survival story master, set along a rugged coastline centuries ago, does for the ocean what Hatchet does for the woods, as it relates the story of a young person’s battle to stay alive against the odds, where the high seas meet a coastal wilderness.

When a deadly plague reaches the small fish camp where he lives, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, navigating from one danger to the next, unsure of his destination. Yet the deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer he comes to his truest self as he connects to ＂the heartbeat of the ocean . . . the pulse of the sea.＂ With hints of Nordic mythology and an irresistible narrative pull, Northwind is Gary Paulsen at his captivating, adventuresome best.

Gary Paulsen lives in New Mexico and is the winner of the ALA Margaret Edwards Award for his contribution to young adult literature, and is a three-time Newbery Honor winner, for Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room. The journey described in Northwind parallels the author’s own sailing adventures, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.