Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Hatchet by Gary Paulson

Hatchet (Brian's Saga Series #1)




Overview from Barnes and Noble:

ALONE
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present — and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parent's divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despair — it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.

For twenty years Gary Paulsen's award-winning contemporary classic has been the survival story with which all others are compared. This new edition, with a reading group guide, will introduce a new generation of readers to this page-turning, heart-stopping adventure.
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

My thoughts:
My son's teacher read this book to the class and he really seemed to enjoy it.  Since this was not a book I had read before I decided to listen to it.  I wanted to read it partially because I was curious and also to show my son that I listen to his reading suggestions.  I suggest books to my children regulary and take them to the library to make their own selections, so I wanted him to see that I was willing to take their suggestions for books to read as well.

I can see why this book appealed to my son and I liked that Brian's survival was not smooth.  He found out that it was diffiuclt and he was not prepared to live alone in the widerness.  He learned important lessons and had to rely on himself.  He reached the point over and over again where he wanted to quit and felt sorry for himself and he had to move through it and try again.  The option to quit was removed if he wanted to survive. 

This book was a lesson not only of self reliance and persistence, but also in what it would really be like to be alone.  How would a child or even an adult adjust to having no one to rely on and not much in the way of tools to use to make a way through the days?


Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781416936473
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
  • Publication date: 1/23/2007
  • Series: Brian's Saga Series , #1
  • Edition description: Reissue
  • Pages: 192

Meet the Author

Gary Paulsen
Gary Paulsen is one of the most honored writers of contemporary literature for young readers. He has written more than one hundred book for adults and young readers, and is the author of three Newbery Honor titles: Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room. He divides his time among Alaska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and the Pacific.

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