Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. New York : Simon & Schuster 1987. Print.
Brian Robeson stared out the window of the small plane at the endless green northern wilderness below. It was a small plane, a Cessna 406 -- a bushplane -- and the engine was so loud so roaring and consuming and loud, that it ruined any chance for conversation. Not that he had much to say.
Description:
Just because a book is labeled as being in the "Young Adult" genre doesn't mean it is not worthy of attention by adults, too. Such is the case of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Many of you may already know of this book (and many of Paulsen's other works) after reading it to your youngsters or watching them become engrossed while reading its story for themselves as teens.
For me, it was cleaning out my bookshelves. I came across a worn version that both our son and I had read and re-read several times, although in my case not for many years. I decided I needed a bolstering adventure tale so started reading it again. In only a couple of days, I finished the nail-biting adventure, fully satisfied with the writing, characters, setting, and of course the survival story of thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, lost deep in the Canadian woods.
Brian, flying in a small bush plane for a visit with his father in backwoods Canada, has to crash land the plane after the pilot suffers a heart attack and dies in the skies over the middle of nowhere. Brian manages to scramble out of his seat and finds himself in a dense, lonesome forest surrounding the lake where he crashed.
As a city boy who knows virtually nothing about the outdoors, Brian is faced with the conclusion that no one knows where he is or even whether he is alive. Therefore, left on his own, he must learn how to find shelter, eat, and ward off any threats to his survival.
The rest of the book follows his self-taught education into forest lore and the creatures and environment that surround him. He learns, slowly, frustratingly, and sometimes painfully how to manage his life day to day, alone.
And that is the story. I found the challenges faced by Brian to be realistic as were his solutions, including the choices he made that did not work in his favor. I was caught up in the life alone in the woods and continually wondered whether I would have addressed the situation and survived or just ... I don't know, gave up?
It is a gripping tale, a very personal experience narrated by Brian as he struggles with new challenges virtually every hour. Author Paulsen is an extremely gifted writer of YA books and has related that he himself had experienced in his own life each of Brian's challenges, thus adding to the realistic adventures and mindset of Brian in his foreign world.
There are several other adventures in the Brian Robeson survival series, each one great although I enjoyed Brian's Winter the most for its completely different challenges he faces in the bitter cold season (see below).
Highly recommended for your own reading and especially to read aloud or give as a gift to a curious young person seeking adventure and a voice they can understand and identify with.
[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]
Paulsen, Gary. Brian's Winter.
What if Brian had not been saved before the bitter cold of winter arrived in his woods? How could he survive, even using his newly-discovered forestry skills? A gripping adventure full of adventure, obstacles, hardships, and triumphs.
Happy reading.
Fred
[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]
