83 pages • 2 hours read
Elizabeth George SpeareA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Twelve-year-old Matt Hallowell’s father leaves him alone in the Maine wilderness in order to fetch the rest of the family. Matt observes the log cabin he helped build: It’s not quite finished, but he knows his mother will be pleased. Still, the lonely silence all around “reached into his stomach to settle there in a hard knot” (2).
Matt and his father traveled to Maine from Massachusetts earlier in 1768. They located the land they bought, built a cabin, and planted corn. Now, Matt must guard the place for six to seven weeks until his family arrives. Before he left, Matt’s father gave him his pocket watch and rifle. Deeply moved, Matt promised to care for both. Matt’s father took the boy’s blunderbuss and reminded him not to shoot at everything he sees.
Matt retrieves his rifle, adds powder, rams a ball into the barrel, and steps outside. He sees a squirrel on a branch, aims carefully, and fires. He misses and realizes the new gun will take practice.
Matt carves notches, one for each passing day, into sticks—one stick per week. By the time Matt has notched seven sticks, his family will return, and he will have reached age 13.
By Elizabeth George Speare
5th-6th Grade Historical Fiction
View Collection
7th-8th Grade Historical Fiction
View Collection
Action & Adventure
View Collection
Action & Adventure Reads (Middle Grade)
View Collection
American Literature
View Collection
Books on U.S. History
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
View Collection
Children's & Teen Books Made into Movies
View Collection
Colonialism & Postcolonialism
View Collection
Coming-of-Age Journeys
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Friendship
View Collection
Juvenile Literature
View Collection
Newbery Medal & Honor Books
View Collection
School Book List Titles
View Collection
The Journey
View Collection