Hatchet

PLOT SUMMARY: I read the book Hatchet. Hatchet is about a boy named Brian Robeson. Brian is stranded somewhere in the Canadian forest because he was on his way to visit his father when the pilot of his plane had a heart attack and died while they were in flight. Brian did not know how to fly a plane so he crashed into a lake and somehow survived the crash. Now Brian is alive, but he has no idea how to survive off the wilderness and all he has is the clothes on his back and the hatchet that his mother gave him before he went on the plane. Brian is not afraid of dying in the wilderness. He thinks that someone will come and find him very soon. Brian is very sour from the crash, but after a few days of just sitting in the woods Brian realizes how hungry he is. He looks for some food and finds berries. They look beautiful but don't taste as good as he had expected. He's just going to have to live with them for now. Brian Knows he has to build some shelter, so he does. After living in the wilderness for a while Brian gets tired of eating the same exact thing every day, so he decides to look for some more food. He finds a raspberry patch and is glad. During one of the nights, a porcupine comes into Brian's shelter and Brian throws his hatchet at it. The hatchet makes sparks and the porcupine shoots it's quills into Brian's leg which hurts Brian badly, but from that night he learned something very important. He realized that the sparks from his hatchet could ignite a fire without matches. It takes time for him to realize it, but after a while he gets it. Brian finds turtle eggs and he eats them happy as can be. One day a rescue plane flies over Brian, but it doesn't see him and just keeps on going. Brian catches a fish and is very happy. He catches many of them and has a big feast that night. Brian gets tired of fish and knows that he needs some meat. He has seen fat birds around, but they seem to blend in with the woods, so it is hard for him to shoot any with his bow and arrow. He finds a quick trick to catch them and he ends up catching a few. He is attacked by a moose and his ribs are very sore. There is a tornado a few days later and it ruins his shelter. The next day when he wakes up he spots the tail of the plane, which reminds him of the dead pilot and he says a couple of words for him. Then he remembers the survival pack in the plain. He builds a raft to get to the plane which is far away from shore then starts making his way to it. When he gets there he drops his hatchet in the water and realizes that without it he could never make a fire without it so he decides to get it back. It takes a few shots for Brian to get it back, but he gets it. Brian gets the survival pack and is amazed at what is in it. He is glad he retrieved it. When Brian is eating his meal from the survival pack a plane shows up and rescues Brian.

CHARACTER: The main character in Hatchet is Brian Robeson. Brian is a very devoted boy. He never gave up hope on being rescued, but then again that could be because he didn't know any better. Brian must have had a tough childhood with his parents being divorced and his mother cheating on his father ("The Secret").

MY THOUGHTS: I thought the book was amazing. I loved almost every part except for the end when he gets rescued. I thought it was the wrong time. I thought that right when he was about to give up on living then the plane comes and rescues him.

READING STRATEGIES: One of the 7 Reading Stratadies I used was mental images. Gary Paulsen uses a lot of description during his books, so it is easy to picture what is going on.

AUTHOR INFORMATION: I liked how detailed Gary Paulson wrote. I liked the plot of the story a lot. Many things happened to Brian that I didn't think would happen to him. Like the porcuipine attacking him. I do not know of any other books that Gary Paulson made.