Guts

I never thought I would pick up a book about hunting, fishing, dog sledding, and survival techniques.  Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the outdoors but by no means am I an "outdoorsy" person.  However, when three of my male students showed a strong interest in Gary Paulsen's book Guts, a book which describes Paulsen's real-life experiences that inspired the book Hatchet, I had to stop and pay attention.

The fact of the matter is, as a high school reading teacher, I've had a pretty tough time finding books that will grab the interest of the boys in my class, and it's no wonder considering the YA market is so heavily targeted toward the female adolescent audience. (All you need to do to see this for yourself is walk into any Barnes & Noble and inspect the book covers that fill the shelves of the teen section.) Is this because girls read more than boys?  Or do boys read less than girls because there is nothing out there for them to read?  This is something YA publishers and people in the field of adolescent literacy need to consider...NOW. 

Anyway, back to Guts.  I really enjoyed this book.  It taught me things I would never know if not for its existence (Which, kiddos, is one of the many awesome things about reading).  For example, don't be fooled by the goofy grin of a moose for it is capable of  true insanity and malice.  Also, if you're stuck in the woods and aren't properly prepared, you may just have to suck it up and eat some fish guts and eyeballs in order to survive.

Even though Guts is a book that caught the attention of the boys in my class, I would recommend it to both male and female readers (and both "indoorsy" and "outdoorsy" types for that matter) because while it has the ability to reflect one reader's own experience, it can also open up a whole new world to another.