The sound came from behind the cabin, like someone hitting something hard. I glanced up at the windows. What had happened to Papa? I sucked in my breath and ducked around the side. A boy was swinging an axe at a log propped up against a stump. I slipped behind a tree and watched. The boy split the log in half and then picked up the pieces and threw them on a pile. I'd never seen such a skinny boy. When he swung the axe his shoulder blades stuck out under his shirt. His feet were bare and his pants ended in a ragged line just below his knees. The boy split two more pieces of wood. Then he dropped the axe and leaned over, gulping in air, his hands on his knees. Max is horrified when he sees Sam Black, a new neighbor, strike a boy who is in his charge, but Max still shouts, "Thief," and tries to catch the boy when he sees him steal from the General Store in The Landings. When the abused boy runs away and takes refuge in Max's secret fort in the woods, Max must decide where his loyalties lie. In the fourth volume of her historical series set in Upper Canada in the 1830s, Becky Citra tackles the serious subject of abuse while staying true to her characters and telling a gripping story. In addition to the Max and Ellie stories, Becky is also the author of Dog Days (Orca, 2003) a hilarious story about a boy who must deal with his fear of dogs in order to make friends in a new town. A primary school teacher and writer, Becky Citra lives on a ranch where horses, bears and coyotes abound and where many of the chores have not changed since Max's day. Runaway is the fourth of five books in the Max and Ellie series. Book one is Ellie's New Home. Book two is The Freezing Moon. Book three is Danger at The Landings. Book five is Strawberry Moon. Other Orca books by Becky Citra: Danger at The Landings Dog Days Ellie's New Home The Freezing Moon Jeremy and the Enchanted Theater Jeremy in the Underworld Strawberry Moon