Readers who enjoy The Crossing may be similarly rewarded by several other titles by Gary Paulsen. Winterkill, narrated by a nameless thirteen-year-old, is another tale in which a boy attaches himself to a troubled adult, this time Duda, a corrupt cop with a "tough guy" exterior. Reviewer Diane Hass says Winterkill is reminiscent of Hinton's The Outsiders (1967) in its description of life on the wrong side of town.

In Dogsong, a young Eskimo, Russel Susskit, with the guidance of a village elder, embarks on a dog sled pilgrimage northward and struggles to sustain himself, his team, and the young, pregnant woman he rescues. Dogsong is a tribute to rites of passage, high adventure with neither a romanticized nor condescending tone.

Sentries offers a collection of vignettes whose characters do not meet but whose stories form a coherent whole nonetheless. Readers are greeted with the magnificence of...