It’s okay - as a proponent of a free and independent society, I respect your right to be wrong. :p
The only things I remember about the story are the protagonist getting a sabbatical from school and getting slashed by the beak of a heron. Did those things happen in that book?
Also, did you like My Side of the Mountain and The Education of Little Tree?
Last question … Were your parents hippies, too?
(This post might age me somewhat.)
Greetings, fellow geezer! I don’t remember much of it, to be honest. Must be well over thirty years since I read it. But I remember that I liked it.
I was homeschooled from age 7 to age 11 and read the book in a similar timeframe. My parents had some trouble getting bureaucratic approval to take us out of school. IIRC about the book, the main character just took a sabbatical from school, entirely withdrawing without an alternative education plan. I remember wondering about the logistics of that, which I guess is why the point sticks in my mind.
I think the heron slash might have been the catalyst for the whole story, otherwise I don’t know why it might have stayed with me.
I do also remember liking all three books, even though Little Tree - presented as an autobiography - turned out to be a lie. It’s still enjoyable as fiction.
I remember two specific parts (sadly without many details):
At one point, the protagonist kills an animal and finds himself staring at a particular organ, apparently craving the nutrients provided by that organ.
At another point, he boils water in a leaf, observing that a leaf will never burn below the top of the water due to the water keeping the leaf moist.
I probably should know whether either of those claims are realistic, but I’ve never been in a survival situation and I still don’t know to this day.
