Tracker by Gary Paulsen

For John Borne's family, hunting is a matter of survival. Every fall John and his guardian, his grandfather, go off into the woods to shoot the deer that will keep them fed over the Minnesota winter.

Now teenaged John's grandfather is dying of cancer, and he must go out to hunt alone. John tracks a doe for two days, but as he closes in on his prey, he realizes he cannot shoot her. For John, the hunt is no longer about killing, but about life.

As John Borne closes in on the doe he's been tracking for two days, he comes to believe she has the mysterious power to cheat death and save the life of his beloved grandfather, who is dying of cancer. ALA Best Book for Young Adults.