Key Points/Quotes
*GARY PAULSEN FANS will relate to the themes of survival of a loner boy and the paradise of undeveloped natural surroundings threaded through the story.
*KIDS/GUNS/SUICIDE: THE STATS include firearms use and safety as well as suicide rates among children. Objectively discusses the tradition of hunting and killing of wild animals, neither advocating nor discouraging this activity.
*COPING SKILLS: reaches out to readers about learning to live with the result of a tragic accident and going on after the loss of a loved one.
"A dramatic story, and Seagraves sets it up effectively . . . . A useful introduction to the devastating truth that an unintended and momentary mistake can change lives forever."--The Bulletin
"Depicts a realistic portrayal of grief from a youth's perspective . . . . Boys will take interest in Daniel's internal superhero-vs.-villain battle."--Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Author Residence: Winterville, GA
DONNY BAILEY SEAGRAVES was a newspaper columnist and has published fiction and nonfiction in many regional and national publications. This is her debut novel.
Gone From These Woods by Donny Bailey Seagraves was released as a Random House Children's Books Yearling paperback February 8, 2011. This page shows information found in the Spring 2011 Random House Children's Books catalog.
Daniel stumbles through grief and guilt when he goes against his instincts to please his uncle and accidentially shoots and kills him in a tragic hunting accident. "Can be likened to a more emotional twin of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet."--Booklist
I didn't want to go hunting with Uncle Clay that morning. Now I have to live with what happened for the rest of my life. It was just an accident. The rabbit ran away. Clay fell.
Nothing has been the same for Daniel since that morning in the woods when Uncle Clay went down. Mom tries to hold the family together. Mrs. Hardy, Daniel's guidance counselor, tries to help Daniel after he loses his role model and best friend. Daniel's alcoholic father just makes the situation worse. The memory of that cold morning will stay with Daniel forever. But somehow, he must find a way to go on . . . for Uncle Clay . . . and most of all, for himself.
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