I have to agree with Hatchet over Island of the Blue Dolphins. Gary Paulsen is quite an outdoorsman, and many of the events that the protagonist, an adolescent boy named Brian Robeson, experiences were based on Paulsen’s own adventures in the outdoors.
It is apolitical, but I still consider it conservative, in that it emphasizes self reliance, inventiveness, and hard work.
Some of the premises in the book are a little bit on the unbelieveable side at times, but not so much that they are out of the realm of possibility.
Even as an adult, I really got into the book. My students absolutely love it.
My children loved the Little Britches series during our morning and evening readings.