I'd heard of this book ... I even had a copy on my home library shelves. I'd never read it, nor even been tempted to. I'm not sure why not. I loved Hatchet. A recent read [book:How to Stay Invisible|61418413] seemed to indicate this was a bit of an inspiration/similar storyline (and yes, a boy living just outside civilization in a tree, although "Invisible" wasn't really by choice). This perhaps reminded me most of [book:Into the Wild|60869516] ... where a boy just up and decides to go live life alone. 

Still, I like survivalist stories, even though this one never seemed to get too treacherous. He could always just pop back into the city if he wanted, could go home if he wanted.

So I was liking it fine ... until the end. Ummmm, what? Well that was a horrible ending!

I mean, maybe I could have dealt with the whole family coming and crashing Sam's solitude, but to do so uninvited and unwanted, and to disrupt and change it, build a house ... even all that, if it was what everyone wanted, but it was all because Mom didn't like the way the neighbor ladies/the world was viewing her. And yes, I probably would have judged her too. But it just undermines everything, she's not even doing it because she wants to or thinks it's the right thing, she just wants to appear to be a better mother, even if that's not really the case.

I see there's a sequel ... does Sam escape his family again, going deeper into the woods?

1st person - written partly like a diary, to readers, in fact portions ARE his written woods diary. Mostly past tense, but there were a few present tense portions.