Hatchet

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 1987. 186 pages.  Tr. Pbk. $6.99 ISBN 416936473

Plot Description:

13 year old Brian Robeson is the only passenger in a bush plane headed for the Northern Canadian oil fields, where his father works, when the pilot of the small plane suffers a massive heart attack and dies.  With some quick thinking, Brian is able to control the plane’s crash, guiding it into a lake in the middle of the Canadian wilderness.  After miraculously surviving the crash, Brian realizes that he has very few resources available to him.  The hatchet his mother gave him as a parting gift is by far his most valuable tool.  With his hatchet Brian manages to build a shelter, build tools, find food and make fire.  Brian needs to survive long enough to be rescued and the key to his survival.

Review:

Hatchet’s intense, heart-pounding beginning that leaves Brian the sole survivor or a plane crash in the wilderness hooks readers immediately.  Brian uses cunning and determination to survive and readers will find themselves mesmerized by the obstacles Brian Encounters.  Readers who are fans of adventure and survival stories will love Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet.

Genre:

Adventure

Realistic Contemporary

Reading Level/Interest Level:

Grade 8/Grades 5-9

Similar Books:

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Awards/Honors:

Newberry Honor 1988

Author’s Website:

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/garypaulsen/