Big Game by Dan Smith

Chicken House, 2015. ISBN: 9781909489943
(Age: 12+) Oskari is 13 years old and embarking on an ancient test of manhood (the Trial) in a remote mountain area in Finland. Armed with a bow and arrow he must survive the night and return with the animal he kills. This animal will symbolize who he will become as a man. Oskari is small for his age and lacks confidence in his abilities. He is unable to pull back the string of the huge ceremonial bow that he must use.
Oskari has hardly begun his night in the wilderness before the sky is lit with explosions and Oskari finds a steel pod. The person inside is revealed to be the President of the United States. The action starts and the book becomes a real page turner with Oskari and the President running for their lives: jumping off a waterfall; finding a severed animal head; hanging from a helicopter; and swimming through a crashed plane.
Oskari relies on his skills as a hunter to save the President and himself from the terrorists who pursue them and return to the Place of the Skulls a hero.
This book will be a real hit with readers who love adventure stories. The book is based on the movie written and directed by Jamari Helander. The movie (starring Samuel L. Jackson) will be released in May.
Linda Guthrie