Sam, a 13-year-old boy, wanted to live in the mts. near Dalhi, NY, off the land of his grandfather. His parents let him. " He will be back soon," they said. They knew he would be back in day or so, but he wasn't. He wanted to remain for a whole year! So he attempted to pile wood. He made a house in a tree and collected food, more wood, and sassafras for tea. He worked on this for a couple of days and soon finished! He shared his tree with a chickadee he called Barometer. He lodged by a rock that had a weasel that he named the Baron Weasel. Sam caught a baby falcon ,so he could train her to get food. He named her Frightful. About two months later, Sam met a guy named Bando. He was a teacher. Bando and Sam spent Christmas together. A year was almost up. Will Sam make it? Will he stay? You will have to read My Side of the Mountains to find out. I recommend this book to all readers, because it is suspenseful and exciting.