Hatchet

Written By: Gary Paulsen
Publisher: Bradbury Press on September 30th, 1987
Fiction - Novel - Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Brian Robeson, a thirteen year old boy is traveling in a small airplane to Canada to spend the summer with his father. He is involved in a plane crash in an uninhabited part of the Canadian woods after the pilot dies of a heart attack. Brian then must find a way to survive and in the process, discovers much about himself and becomes a man.

The main theme that I got from this novel is to never give up. Without hope, Brian was helpless and meaningless.  Brian continually learns how to keep a positive attitude and to persevere through all of the struggles that are thrown his way. This book reaches out to kids in so many ways. It is suspenseful, helps those kids who may be going through a divorce in their family, teaches to have a positive outlook on life, and it teaches good things about survival that they can take with them. I would love to read this book out loud to my students. This was my favorite book in elementary school.
*****
I give this book 5 out 5 stars
22 points