Every man in Oskari's village has gone through the same rite of passage on his thirteenth birthday: spending a night and a day in the forest outside their small Finnish village, hunting for a trophy that will show what kind of man they will be. As he begins his Trial, Oskari stumbles across a UFO-like life pod containing the president of the United States. Air Force One has been shot down, and the president is being hunted. Oskari is not the best hunter in his village, but he is a smart woodsman and is determined to bring the president out of the forest to safety, away from the frighteningly violent men who are hunting them.This is a novelization of a screenplay for a film that is coming out next year. Unsurprisingly, then, the pace is fast, the action is constant, and the dialog has plenty of cool parting lines thrown over characters' shoulders as they exit a scene. Oskari gains confidence as the story goes on, even speaking aloud about how lucky the president is to have him around since he knows how to build a shelter and start a fire. Although the author lays everything out rather obviously, the pace and action will grab fans of survival stories. Readers who are not quite ready for Gary Paulsen's Hatchet (Simon & Schuster, 1987/VOYA February 1988) or Ben Mikaelson's Touching Spirit Bear (HarperCollins, 2001/VOYA June 2001) may enjoy this, and if the movie is a success, readers will be happy to find it on your library shelves.Geri Diorio.

Gr 6 Up-In Oskari's Finnish mountain village there is a tradition known as the Trial. On the eve of a boy's 13th birthday he spends the night on the mountain. Whatever game he brings back indicates the kind of man he'll be. Oskari's father, a fearless hunter, brought back a bear when he was just 13. Oskari is small and doesn't even have the strength to fully draw back the string of the traditional bow in order to shoot an arrow straight. Everyone in the village, including Oskari himself, doubts that he will be able to kill anything. While on his Trial, Oskari comes across a strange metal pod in the woods. Out of it emerges the President of the United States whose plane, Air Force One, has just been shot out of the sky. The president's would-be assassins are hunting him and, by association, Oskari as well. It soon becomes clear that Oskari's mission is not to hunt and kill, but rather to use his knowledge of the wilderness to save the president. Initially the assassins appear to be terrorists, but Oskari and the president soon learn that the nefarious plan is far more complicated and insidious. This fast-paced page-turner will appeal to fans of action-packed plots and is recommended for reluctant readers. Smith's version is based on a story by Jalmari Helander and Petri Jokiranta. A movie starring Samuel L. Jackson as the POTUS directed by Finnish Helander is soon to be released in the US. Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY

Tomorrow Oskari will turn 13. As a member of his remote Finnish village, he must undergo "the Trial," heading into the wild to successfully hunt an animal, which will then determine what he will become as an adult. Oskari is worried not only about facing the dark forest but also about his ability to hunt with the large bow that must be used. He cannot draw it back fully, and he knows this will limit his chances of success. But the hunt takes an unexpected turn for Oskari when he discovers a strange figure in the woods, one whose identity will change the focus of the hunt: Oskari now becomes the hunted. Oskari's skills are put to the ultimate test as he encounters an injured President of the United States trapped in the wilds of the forest. This is based on the screenplay for the recent Samuel L. Jackson headlined film self based on a story by Jalmari Helander and Petri Jokiranta d readers will appreciate the nonstop action as Oskari relies on all of his training to help the president evade the villains and their treasonous plans.