Hatchet

GARY PAULSEN

Paulsen throws readers right into the thick of things when Brian, the lone passenger in a private turboprop plane, must crash-land it in the middle of the Canadian Wilds when the pilot has a heart attack midflight. For nearly two months, Brian must fend for himself, armed only with the hatchet his mother gave him as a parting gift before his fateful flight. Paulsen does a great job building intensity during the plane wreck, and once Brian is surviving on the lake, there is a great sense of pacing between long quiet moments and the sharper intensities of attack and hunger that come with surviving off the land. I first read this book back in elementary school and remember thinking it was okay. This time around, I can really see the appeal the book has for boys–bears, porcupines, fishing, fool birds, even a moose attack. It might even see a resurgence as contemporary survival shows like Man vs. Wild or Survivorman become more and more popular.