Hatchet: 20th Anniversary Edition

Thirteen year old Brian is on his way to visit his father when the pilot of a small, two-person plane has a heart attack and dies. Brian crashes the airplane into a small lake in the middle of a Canadian wilderness. Sore and shocked from the crash, the boy finds himself on a sandy tree-lined shore with only his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the belt-attached hatchet his mother had given him as a present.

At first, Brian hopes to be rescued in a couple of days, but later he realizes that his life depends only on him - the rescue is not near, since the plane drifted off course significantly soon after the pilot died. Now Brian has to learn how to survive, to toughen up, and to let go of self-pity: "...he learned the most important rule of survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn't work."

Gary Paulsen effectively describes how Brian learns to watch, listen, and think before he acts, learning to co-exist, and to overcome any obstacles. The reader sees Brian's mistakes, setbacks, and small triumphs as, with the help of the hatchet, he manages to survive the 54 days alone in the wilderness - he attempts to build a fire, to fish and hunt, and to make his home under a rock overhang safe and comfortable.

An epilogue of the book describes the lasting effects of Brian's stay in the wilderness -
his character have changed from the "city boy" mentality to enlightened and being as one with nature. "None of that used to be Brian and now that was a part of him, a changed part of him, a grown part of him, and the two things, his mind, and his body, had come together as well, had made a connection with each other that he didn't quite understand."

"Hatchet" is a heart-stopping tale of accomplishment, sadness, anger, and happiness that brings a new appreciation for life and respect for nature. This particular 20th Anniversary edition has a bonus feature of author's notes and some truly great pencil drawings.

P.S. I'm sure Brian wished he had seen Bear Grylls' show Man vs. Wild :) LoL

Julia Shpak
Author of "Power of Plentiful Wisdom". Available on Amazon.
For more reviews on children's books visit my blog "Julia's Library" at: ForwardQuoteDOTcom

My son is an advanced reader for his age so in third grade (8 years old) his teacher gave him this book as a reading assignment. I read through it and was surprised at the mature subject matter for a third grade school assignment. I love the idea of the story, a determined boy surviving and overcoming on many levels. At one point in the story however, he contemplates slitting his wrists to attempt suicide. My 8 year does not need to learn about suicide and methods to attempt suicide at this age and he doesn't need to read about a boy discovering his parent cheating on the other parent as a third grade school reading assignment. I think this may be a good book for a more mature audience but even the teacher was surprised at the content once I talked to her and she pulled it off the third grade book shelf. I gave it 2 stars because I believe it is targeted and marketed to the wrong age group. The school description says it is designed for boys age 10-13. I think a lot of parents of 10-13 year old boys would want the discussion of suicide to come up in another way rather than as a book assignment. Obviously advanced 8-9 year old readers in the school are being target with this book as well. Teachers and parents need to know the content so a serious topic like this can be discussed with kids rather than introduced in a book without any discussion.

I had not yet read this classic tale, but, upon the recommendation of a friend, although I am 36 and a college graduate, I bought it. This is a great story, hence the reason for 20th anniversary reissue. But, I can say, the hardcover edition with new drawings by Drew Willis and accompanying notes by the author add so much. One of my favorite things about this book is the author's notes, 20 years after its surprise success, with some truly great pencil drawings. Anyone who is looking at buying this book would do well to buy this particular edition.

Review # 1239 with 1238 posted 15 days ago about "Hatchet," a book written 20 years ago by Gary Paulsen--

The point is: What new thing can I say about such a book? The answer is probably nothing with the point being that Amazon allows each of its customers an individual voice, despite how many there might be.

As a children's librarian (including those middle school children), I know that "Hatchet" is a great recommended read for reluctant readers for whatever reasons. Why haven't I read this book, I continued to ask myself. So--this summer I asked my great-niece and -nephew, 12 and 10, if we could all read and discuss this book? All agreed, no one finished. Here's how the first couple of chapters go: Brian, aged 13, is flying to a remote area in Northern Canada to stay with his dad. Because the area is so remote, a private plane must be hired. That means one pilot, one passenger in a tiny two-seater. Then, as it so happens from time to time in the real world--out of nowhere, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. In a rush of panic, Brian takes over and flies the plane until fuel runs out. Then he must land. Therein lies the difficulty. With so many lakes and rivers in the Canadian wilderness, where he is, at that point and moment in space and time, reveals an unsatisfactory water bed, but he must land anyway. Water is like concrete to a flying object on impact. Brian hits his head and wrenches his whole body in the crash, but he makes it out and swims to shore in icy water.

Now that's an exciting beginning. Who wouldn't want to read further, but I didn't. Finally, when I discovered that none of us had finished the book, I picked it up again and continued reading. At exactly that point begins one incredible episode after the other in Brian's personal and up close experience with a life threatening adventure. A city boy, Brian knows nothing about survival skills or even simple camping. What resources he calls on are two: television programs and a teacher's mantra that each of us is the person to most rely on.

As an aside, Paulsen spent a few nights camping in his backyard, using stones and sticks to start a fire. Finally, his wife asked what in the world was he doing? (I think this is just a neat story to relate about the background for his book and not really true.) He replied, "Trying to start a fire." "Well, why don't you just use matches?" she asked. "I don't have any," he responded.

And neither did Brian, so the description of his efforts to start a fire ring true--because they are. In his two month sojourn (not intentional, mind you), Brian meets a bear, fool birds, chokeberries, a crazed elk, rabbits, a tornado, and a continuing incredible (but believable) array of obstacles and milestones and little victories.

Brian fully expected to be rescued within 24 hours until he remembered how off-course he probably flew the plane himself. Hours turned into days, days into weeks, and .... I wish I could comment on the ending because I have some things to say, but in whatever subtle way I said it, I would reveal spoilers. Allow me this: I had been right there with Brian the whole way. The ending stunned me. I mean it--I was stunned!

Because of the ending I began researching what else Paulsen had written, and discovered more Brian books. I cannot say anything about them either, but I've ordered them for my school library.

Now I know why I can recommend this book to reluctant readers--and of course, anyone who loves a good story!! Hatchet? Didn't I mention it? It's really not the hatchet that saves Brian for so long--it is Brian himself wielding the hatchet. This book is definitely a great read!

Does your pre-or early-teen son hate reading? Mine does. I remember not being that thrilled about reading, especially for recreation, myself until I found the book that caught my attention and swept me into a different world. My son had read this book in school for a report and wanted to have it at home and that told me something. Maybe he had found the book. I got this 20th Anniversary Edition and he plowed right through it again, happily reviewing the events of each chapter with me. As he had shown so much interest in this book, I even ordered the next two in the series to see if we could keep the momentum going and so I can report to you that he is just as interested in what happens to Brian in The River and Brian's Winter.

Again, it has been difficult for us to find THE story that would catch his eye, that would garner enough of his attention to show him that reading is not only an assignment at school but entertainment that stimulates the imagination while giving the reader characters to care about and a story to enjoy in a way that movies can't. The tale of Brian's unfortunate adventures in the woods caught something in him. I can't say if it will work for you but The Hatchet has been that book for my son.

For me? It was Up Periscope by Robb White. Boys will be boys.

--- WARNING: SPOILERS ---

My 9 year old brought this book home and put it down because he felt it was boring at the start. I suspect (because he's a sensitive kid), he found the notion of divorce and the plane crash hard to read about before bed. So, I picked it up and read it in a few days. I enjoyed the book, but a couple events that occur to the main character are implausible:

1. A tornado in the Canadian forest? Not likely. Perhaps the main character mistook high winds for a tornado, but the likelihood either would raise a plane out of the water isn't plausible.

2. A moose charges the main character three times and damages his ribs, but the main character is seemingly okay within a couple days of this event.

A better book of a child in the outdoors is My Side of the Mountain.

- Jon

This book is perfect for football players, basketball players, and jocks. My son is a teacher and bought this for my grandson to read to me. He's so interested in sports and competition that it's been difficult to keep him interested, but this book is he-male orientated. He's learned so much, like the fact that he DOES love to read.

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.

Few books for young adults have the potential to capture the attention of the young male reader. "Hatchet" is defenitely one of those books. Like watching a good movie, I often found myself on the edge of my seat as I waited for a scene to come to its logical end. Even when I foresaw what would happen next, I found this to be an exciting book.

Paulsen perfectly captures the psyche of a 14 year old boy in this book. Passed between parents after their divorce, Brian is going to see his father for the summer. But when his plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness, Brian is made to fend for himself. Through trial-and-error and reasoning, he learns about his environment and learns to survive. More importantly, he learns about himself.

As the story evolves, the author shows the development of Brian's character in evident ways. As he faces his demons, both physical and emotional, his actions are that of a 14 year old boy who is growing up fast. Though hardly subliminal, these lessons will leave an impact with young readers.

Though the ending is easy to anticipate based on the sequels to this book that are now available, the way in which the ending occurred was well presented. The author chose not to make a simple happy ending. Instead, the ending was somwhat awkward but realistic.

Generations of middle school students are certain to enjoy this book. As a Newberry Honor winner, it has already received recognition. Time will make it a classic.

The story is kind of sad because of this young boy who is barely a teenager and grew up in a city, trying to do anything he can to stay alive. It would be really scary for someone without any survival skills to stay alive in a forest all alone. One of my cousins was in a play based on the book in 6th grade.