Hatchet

This book was recommended to me by a teacher at my son's school. He is an extremely reluctant reader and I don't think he's finished a book since the Biff & Chip books he was forced to read with me & his Father in the infants! I was advised to get a short book that can grip his attention and that he has a hope of finishing. It came today (have already posted positive seller feedback) and I have read it myself already. Literally didn't put it down for a few hours. Now everyone is waiting for their dinner but I had to post this review first. Great book. I can see it grabbing the attention of both boys and girls. My son is going into secondary school shortly and needs to read over the summer. I have just handed this to him and I will provide and update as to whether or not it's managed to capture his imagination. This is my last resort. Nothing else has worked! There has been so many positive comments from the teachers at school about this book that I think only the most resilient of anti-readers will resist it.

Despite the title making it sound like an 18+ horror, this is in fact a beautifully written adventure story about 13 year old Brian Robeson. He is flying north across the Canadian wilderness to visit his father, when the pilot has a heart attack and dies - throwing the small 2-seater plane way off course in the process. Brian survives the crash and has to learn how to survive on his own, with only the hatchet that his mother gifted to him for help. Author Gary Paulsen's own adventurous life more than qualifies him to pen such a gripping story. As a teacher, in Europe, I take advantage of the fact that his books are still relatively unknown outside of North America, and study it with my students - it's refreshing to find a book where half the class don't announce, 'I've read this' - and they always love it! EXCITING TIP: If you loved this book then head straight for 'Brian's Winter' - it'd be a slight spoiler if I told you what it's about...but it's a VERY clever little 'what if...' sequel idea from Paulsen!

Imagine you are a child on a plane flight in a small plane across the Canadian Wilderness, when the pilot suddenly has a massive and extremely lethal heart attack, leaving you alone. Imagine the sum total of your flight experience is the few minutes when you held the plane straight and level earlier in the flight. That is the position Brian finds himself in at the start of this novel. Surviving a crash landing, this city boy, with no survival training and nothing but a hatchet and the clothes he is wearing to help him, must learn how to survive in a wild and unforgiving place. This is a compelling survival story, well written, gritty and realistic. It captivated me despite being well over its target age range, and it will be equally captivating to a young adult audience. Thoroughly recommended.

Brian Robeson was 13yrs and a passenger in a Cessna 406, he had left New York and was off to see his father who worked in the oil fields in Canada, his parents were separated, Brian sat in the co pilots seat, the pilot appeared ill, as he left his mother she gave him a hatchet as a present, the pilot has a heart attack and dies, Brian was alone and did not know how to fly, the radio didn't work, fuel was running out and he had to land, he saw a lake, the plane crashed into trees and sank in the lake, Brian tears off his seatbelt and swims to shore, he is exhausted, this gives him time to think of his mother, Brian had seen her with another man, when he recovers he finds no breaks but his head is swollen, then mosquitos cover him, he sleeps, Brian has no idea where he is, he drinks from the lake and is then faced with hunger All Brian has is his hatchet, and a broken watch, first he must make shelter and look for food, as the sun went down he was once more covered in mosquitos, he had found berries and eaten a great ammount, he was now in agony with his stomach and had terrible diarrhoea, he awoke in the morning and cried, Brian had to face all this and much more alone, there will be bears and a bad experience with a porcupine, Brian would have to work out how to make fire, he would have to find food, learn how to fish, how to make weapons, he has a losing battle with a skunk, Brian has to survive a tornado and an animal attack that nearly kills him, can Brian survive long enough to be rescued My verdict, quite enjoyed this book, well worth a read

Really great book for 9+. Well written and interesting story line.

Branson aged 12 found it a really good read. Quick delivery.

Both my son's (and me) enjoyed this book. Don't want to spoil the story too much but it's gripping, most kids will enjoy this! Brian is a city boy. Not used to being alone. Not used to living rough. Until his plane crash-lands in the Canadian wilderness. All he is left with is a hatchet.

Kids book, bought it in case I had missed something when I was younger!

Seemingly unknown outside the US, 'Hatchet' by Gary Paulsen never appeared on my radar until recently. Beloved by millions, this youth novel tells the story of 13-year old Brian Ropeson, who is left on his own in the Canadian wilderness and has to rise to the occasion in hope of being rescued. Without giving too much away, the story starts with his mother driving him to a small airport in Hampton, New York, where he boards a Cessna 406 as its sole passenger on his way to visit his father, who works for a drilling company in the Canadian oil fields of the far north. His parents have recently divorced on his mother's behalf and Brian is still in the process of coping with this fact. Throughout the book, Paulsen regularly invokes this aspect of the character's background, going further into detail each time, implying infidelity of the mother as the reason. While his parents' separation is a plausible reason for him to be on such a delicate plane flying this exotic route, Paulsen never manages to weave a character-expanding purpose for it into the rest of the survival tale. Brian neither gains insight from it, nor do the unfolding events affect his perspective in being a divorce-child. Without this subplot, the main arc would literally remain unchanged–a chance unfortunately missed. The book kicks into full gear when the pilot suffers a heart-attack above the lush forest wilder lands of the big white north. Unable to successfully establish communication and with fuel running low, Brian aims for an L-shaped lake on the horizon, revealed in the light of the afternoon sun. The plane relentlessly dives into the concrete-like water of the lake, tearing all of the windows out, throwing him about, and finally sinking into the green-blue depths. Brian escapes to the shore, mostly unharmed, but severely bruised and overall physically weakened. Almost two days of regeneration follow, in which he slowly familiarises himself with the lake, the forest, and their inhabitants. This is when the title-giving hatchet takes centre stage in the story. Gifted to him by his mother before his departure, it becomes the life-saving foundation for all of his endeavours around the lake. A realisation the character also comes to closer to the books' ending, when he almost loses it on his quest to retrieve a survival kit from the re-emerged plane wrack. Without the hatchet, he couldn't have achieved anything; the hatchet is him. With this tool, he not only builds a shelter, crafts spears, bow and arrows for hunting, but also manages to make fire by catching sparks from hacking away at a rock. Drama comes in the form of wildlife encounters and environmental hazards. Since they are crucial to the narrative, I am hesitant to spoil them, but let me state that Paulsen deserves credit for some well-placed twists on the survival formula. There are some unexpected adversaries, but also obvious ones, who turn out to be as curious of the main character, as he is of them. In these passages, the author muses on nature itself. And as the weeks pass by, Brian draws more and more conclusions from his experiences. He becomes driven by hunger, just like all the animals of the forest are, for nature is not allowed to be lazy. Food is life. And even though this hostile environment repeatedly lashes out against him, he becomes part of its ecosystem, and rises through failure with new-found maturity. But Brian can't help but to marvel at the poetic beauty of the scenery. This is wilderness romanticism at its best, but Paulsen avoids meandering on it and manages to make these points by way of narrative. In the end, the book's shortness works to its advantage. A story this linear could've easily overstayed its welcome, but by keeping the chapters short and the word-count economic, the narrative breezily moves from checkpoint to checkpoint. Make no mistake, this is a coming of age novel set against the backdrop of the Canadian wilderness, constantly contrasting civilisation with nature. But I found the main character's arc much easier to digest this way; and with the usual schmaltz of other youth novels avoided, Paulsen delivers a swiftly-paced, captivating read for all ages.

A classic on survival. The book deals with the traumatic journey of a young boy who gets stranded in wilderness after a plane crash. How he survives, how he struggles and forages for food, how he has to use his wits and guts to battle the elements. And how through this harsh, brutal, churning, the boy ultimately mans up. Raw, gritty and uplifting.

I loved It

Very good

Great book