Thursday, March 23, 2017

14:120 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Brian is angry, so angry.  He knows the Secret that caused his parents' divorce and now he is stuck in a small, single-engine plane on his way to visit his father in Canada because they can no longer all live together. He is stewing about that when the pilot has a heart attack and the fight for survival in the Canadian wilderness starts with the plane crashing in the middle of nowhere, well off the flight path they were supposed to be on.  With the plane sunk in a lake and no supplies but his windbreaker, the hatchet his mother gave him as he left, and his very limited knowledge of survival skills, he must find shelter and food for who knows how long.

I have seen this book around but had never read it before but found a literature study unit for it and grabbed it for homeschooling and now is when my son decided we should read it.  I really enjoyed it as Brian was very easy to relate to.  He makes mistakes, he doesn't have a lot of survival skills, he has set-backs where he almost gives up but then pulls himself out of it.  He has some luck, both good and bad, but in all it's a huge learning experience for him and we get to share it.  I also appreciate that even after his rescue, he doesn't just return to how he was before but they mention some of the issues he has readjusting to regular life.  I think that's an important thing that so often gets left out so I was happy that this book didn't.


Page count: 186p/3,165p ytd/277,640p lifetime

No comments:

Post a Comment