Hatchet by: Gary Paulsen

Hatchet is a book about survival. It takes place in the Canadian wilderness around present day. The main character is a boy named Brian who was on a bush plane going to visit his father when the pilot had a heart attack. After a few hours of panic in the plane, it eventually crashes. Brian is stranded in the middle of nowhere with no means of communication and very little knowledge of survival. Brian has to discover how to do things such as make weapons, catch fish without a pole, and figure out how to create the most important thing in survival….fire. After being raided by a porcupine, he figures out how to make fire, by striking the ever important hatchet against a big rock that is used as a wall of his shelter. Brian learns the key to survival…..the hatchet, which was given to him by his mother at the very beginning of the book. Another very important part of this book is when Brian gets a survival kit out of the plane. The plane had sunken to the bottom of the lake that he was camped by. But after a tornado the plane came up to the surface of the lake so Brian goes out on a raft and retrieves the survival kit. Will Brian ever get off of the island? Read this book to find out.

I think this is a great book and it is one of my favorites. Gary Paulsen is a great author and I have loved all of his books including the Hatchet series, the Mr. Tucket series, and other books such as Tracker, The Rifle, and Soldiers Heart. If you like the outdoors and anything involving survival you will really like Hatchet. My favorite part is when Brian gets his first rabbit and when he discovers how to make fire. I rate this book a five out of five. The sequel to Hatchet is Brian’s Winter. I hope you enjoy Hatchet as much as I did!