Canyons

by Gary Paulsen

Book Overview

Two boys, separated by the canyons of time and two vastly different cultures, face the challenges by which they will become men.
Coyote Runs, an Apache boy, takes part in his first raid. But he is to be a man for only a short time.
More than a hundred years later, while camping near Dog Canyon, 15-year-old Brennan Cole becomes obsessed with a skull that he finds, pierced by a bullet. He learns that it is the skull of an Apache boy executed...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385742347
• ISBN13: 9780385742344
• Release Date: August 2011
• Publisher: Ember
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.6" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Inspiring read for youngsters

Canyons tells the story of two boys, Brennan Cole and Coyote Runs, whose lives and soul's, though a century apart, are mysteriously linked. Coyote Runs, a young Apache brave living in 1864, had just become a man when he and his group were cornered in a canyon and he was executed by soldiers, shot right in the middle of his forehead. Brennan Cole, camping near the same canyon more than a hundred years later, finds Coyote's skull, and although he ignores the story behind it, he will stop at nothing to find out. Driven by Coyote Run's disturbed spirit Brennan will engage in what is going to unknowingly become his own path to manhood, as he seeks for the answers that will grant Coyote's soul and his own the peace they so desperately need.

Separated by 100 Years

A Review by KarinaCoyote Runs is an Apache Boy who has just become a man, but soon after, soldiers attack his group. Coyote Runs is `executed' with a bullet to his skull. About one hundred years later Brennan is camping near Dog Canyon and finds a skull pierced by a bullet in the forehead. Brennan is mentally taken over by the skull and soon he realizes that he must take it back to its sacred resting place in Dog Canyon. Canyons is about how Brennan must use everyday skills to solve a big mystery. One thing that sets this book aside from most of Paulsen's books is that the conflict is somewhat internal between Brennan and what the skull is telling him to do... and who to be. That's one of the concepts that I really enjoy about this book. The suspense is supreme in Canyons because even in the beginning Paulsen doesn't introduce the characters through everyday events, but through action. When Brennan is running I can feel as though I'm right with him because of the excruciating detail! However, the difficulty was low mostly because of the elementary vocabulary. The climax is well organized, but I dislike how it ends in a drop off. There is a resolution, however no note to how Brennan's life continues. If you really enjoy a book that you can't put down because of suspense and mystery then Canyons will be a great read for you! Plus it's one of the great books where the main character is intelligent and uses everyday problem solving skills, not super powers!

Canyons by Paulsen, November 26, 2000

The novel, Canyons by Gary Paulsen is one of the best novels I've ever read. The beginning is rather strange because the author switches between two story lines and two characters in each chapter. One chapter will be about an American boy, Brennan Cole, then the next one tells about an Apache boy, Coyote Runs. Until the reader realizes this, it is a little confusing because Brennan is living in the present and Coyote Runs lived in the past. This writing style made me wonder what the two could possibly have in common. Not too far into the book, though, the story becomes very clear. As the book begins, Coyote Runs is searching for his manhood. He is anxious to take part in his first raid, hoping that the success will make him worthy of being considered a man and not a boy anymore. The raid starts out very well but in later chapters it turns sour and Coyote Runs is killed. The murder occurs in a savage way near Dog Canyon. As the life of Brennan Cole is introduced into the book, the reader eventually sees how the two lives are joined. Brennan takes a camping trip to Dog Canyon with his mother, her boyfriend, Bill, and some youth from Bill's church. While trying to get some relief from the other campers, Brennan goes to sleep in a secluded place away from them. When he wakes up, Brennan realizes he is lying on top of a skull, which he secretly takes home with him. It is during this night that the excitement and eerie feelings begin. The rest of the book leaves the reader in complete suspense as Brennan searches for answers to his many questions concerning the skull and his obsession with it. The way the author, Gary Paulsen tells the story, it makes the idea of the "Indian spirit" very believable. The words he uses and the way he repeats them, made me feel like I was running with the skull myself, just like Brennan Cole. The novel, Canyons is a very exciting, mysterious adventure that I would recommend to any reader.

A book that gets better and better as you read it

"Canyons" is an interesting book and it's one of Gary Paulsen's best. Coyote Runs was a young Apache Indian that was just going through the ritual of becoming a man when he got killed by some soldiers. About 100 years later, a fourteen year old boy named Brennan finds Coyote Runs's skull while on a camping trip in the canyons. He gets attached to the skull once he starts hearing mysterious voices that are like spirits speaking to him from the skull. Brennan wants to find out more about the skull. Eventually he decides to do something with it and he won't let anybody stand in his way until he does it."Canyons" is a good and compelling book. Gary Paulsen alternately tells the story of Coyote Runs and Brennan, and eventually brings their two stories together to make the book even better. There are several high points in the story that seem like they're the climax of "Canyons," but as you read on you'll read even better parts, making it all the more compelling. If you like good adventure books, I definitely recommend reading "Canyons."

Reviewed for Mrs. Hassell's 5th grade class at St. John's

Canyons is a great adventure story. The main characters are Brennan, Mr. Homesly and Brennan's mother. In this book Brennan stumbled over a skull with a bullet hole in it. After this, he had trouble sleeping. He had strange dreams, and he heard whispers. He finally realized that he had a quest from an Apache boy who was executed by soldiers for no reason. His quest was to return the skull to the medicine place. Could he do it? Once Brennan had a vision about Coyote Runs, the Apache boy. In his vision Brennan saw soldiers coming after him like they did to Coyote Runs. This reminds me of the time I was playing guns. I was climbing on the rough rocks of Devil's Den at Gettysburg, playing with my brother. I could see myself slipping, fearing that I might fall just like Brennan did when he climbed the cliffs with the rescue team behind him. When Brennan went camping, he was having a lot of fun. Then when he found the skull, he was scared. This reminds me of the time when I went camping in Canyonlands in Utah. It was a lot of fun at first, but then I got worried that the creek next to our tents was going to flood. That night in our sleeping bags, we heard the water come closer and closer. I was so scared I almost jumped out of my shorts! I felt just like Brennan did when he found the skull. When Brennan was doing research with Mr. Homesly, he was trying to find out more facts about Coyote Runs. He wanted to know who this boy was. When I was studying about the Civil War, I did alot of hard work looking into the past and trying to understand what happened. I was staying up late just like Brennan did looking at every detail. Canyons is a great book for kids. It's loaded with action, suspense and alot of adventure. I recommend it to every boy in our class