Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry is about Mafatu, a boy who barely survived a canoe accident when he was little - his mother didn't survive. The memories of the accident have haunted him ever since, preventing him from doing the same things as the other boys in his tribe. Mafatu is supposed to be a fisherman, but he can't bring himself to paddle out past the reef. Instead, he does "women work", carving knives, making rope, etc. The other boys ridicule Mafatu, saying he is a coward. One day Mafatu has finally had enough. He takes his dog, jumps in a canoe and paddles off to prove his courage. He travels for days on the ocean, through storms and dehydration, before finally reaching a small island. Mafatu sets up camp there and sets about proving his courage. He kills a hammerhead shark, kills a giant octopus, kills a wild boar, and even escapes a tribe of "man-eating" natives. Once he returns home, Mafatu is given a hero's welcome - he has proven himself to his tribe, his family, and Mafatu.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a Newberry Medal winner that I'd never read before. This is a short book, filled with action and adventure. I felt so sad for Mafatu - no one in his village understood his fears. He finally went out to prove himself to the rest of them, which he did, but at his own expense. Pretty sad.