Hatchet comes from a long tradition of YA books about young people surviving on their own in the wilderness. When the pilot of the small prop plane he is on dies and crashes into a lake, the protagonist, Brian, has to survive in a remote Canadian wilderness with only his hatchet (a recent gift) as survival tool. This is the type of story that fires the imagination of kids between about 9 and 12, but that’s not why I remember this book.

I didn’t read Hatchet as a kid. The reason it is memorable to me is because my own kid, at age 11, excitedly brought this book to me insisting that I read it. I had been reading to him since he was tiny, and when he was a bit older I started giving him books that I had loved as a kid (A Stranger Came Ashore, The Light in the Forest, Johnny Tremain, etc.) to read on his own. Now he had reached a point where he was finding and reading books on his own, and after reading this one, was returning the favor, sharing his new favorite with dad. Of course I read it, and the two of us had a grand old time discussing it together. Made me so proud! Which is why Hatchet has a special place in my heart.

I never read this book in elementary school, and I really can’t tell you why. I think I was already experiencing the desire to not like what everyone else loved. While now I understand how stupid that idea is, I feel like that could be what stopped me from reading this sooner.

However, after seeing the gorgeous 30th anniversary edition of this book at the bookstore, I just had to pick it up. From the first page alone, I immediately became engrossed in the determination of Brian.

I could feel every thought he had and I could experience every effect that nature had on him. I was hit by every blow of anger and frustration at each setback. I was hollowed out by the disappointment he felt from each passing day. But most importantly, I learned the importance of resilience and the stupidity of feelings when it comes to survival.

Paulsen’s writing style is very repetitive, and I understand why some people don’t like it, but it just so happened to click for me. My mind followed the exact same train of thought as Brian, and Paulsen’s writing made me feel like I was stranded in the woods as well.

I’ve found a new overly-specific genre that I enjoy: survival in solitude. I don’t like survival stories that involve fighting and miscommunication; I enjoy survival stories in which one must learn one’s own limits. A person can accomplish much more than they can ever anticipate.

So, thank you, Hatchet, for teaching me that I am capable of so much more than I thought. If Brian can do it by simply taking a step back, then so could I. And, most importantly, so could you.

Growing up, my favorite book was My Side of the Mountain, about a boy living off the land in the mountains. It was my boyhood daydream. This book, which was a joy to read, is like a cousin to My Side of the Mountain, but with a more dangerous challenge facing the character. Reading it was like revisiting my childhood. It’s good to remember those days, and to remember also that survival takes many forms, both in childhood and adulthood.

My husband recommended this dark YA survival book that he vividly recalled reading in his youth, time and again to me, and recently surprised me with it, so I reluctantly agreed to read it. I must say it was an experience, one that would have been much more eye opening for me as a child. Speaking of which, I learned that this book has been banned in schools over the years!! This had me shaking my head in utter disbelief!! Oh, come on!!

Yes, Brian does go through traumatic experiences, but that’s the entire premise of a survival tale. Spoiler Alert - it isn’t supposed to be pleasant!!! I was surprised to discover many other amazing books banned for similar reasons. I’m so glad I grew up in a time where things were less sensitive and absolutely thrilled, I don’t have children of my own facing these ridiculous ordeals.

Anyway, back to Brian – this is a book about how to find your inner strength, survive, and overcome overwhelming odds. It’s definitely worth a read for any age group. I very much enjoyed reading Hatchet and plan to look into the rest of the series.

Found this (yup, a young reader book) on the shelf a while back ... finally sat down to read it (a brief evening spent, the time went by quickly)... Both my offspring read it in school, although I don't remember which grades it was assigned... But I hadn't read it as a child. (OK, I was already an adult, indeed, already a practicing attorney, when it was first published....) I'd been meaning to read it for ages, and, now that I have, I'm glad I did.

It's no secret it's a boy's coming-of-age survival saga. I can't say I understand how it became a classic, or, for that matter, why it's assigned so frequently in schools. Maybe it's popular in urban schools, or maybe because fewer kids (boys?) grew up with scouting and basic survival training, so it seems exotic or foreign or.... I dunno. Part of me thinks that, given the amount of dystopian fiction that kids read these days, this would seem a bit tame.... I appreciate that the author has the protagonist recall (and rely on and reject) information gleaned from TV shows and movies ... but I guess I'm just assuming "kids today" are inundated with more of that kind of stuff, but, I dunno....

Ultimately, it's hard to be objective about kid's literature - as adults, we're not the target audience. And we're heavily biased by what we read (and have experienced). For an analogous non-fiction plane crash solo survival epic, I couldn't get Norman Ollestad's Crazy For the Storm out of my head. (Ollestad was 11 during his ordeal, the protagonist here is 13.) For pure epic drama, Joe Simpson's Touching the Void, is far more harrowing, but, again, he's an adult, and the number of climbing disaster books, ranging from Krakauer's Into Thin Air to Beck Weathers' Left for Dead should be a genre unto themselves.... For making a life out of a survival epic on the edge of the earth, Rockwell Kent's Wilderness is remarkable, but of course, that's voluntary, and Kent is an adult. And, of course, military history is replete with extraordinary survival tales, but I digress.... This is something different, for a different readership...

I've not read ... nor do I expect I'll get around to reading ... any of the sequels. (If I understand it correctly, one of the sequels is basically an alternative ending to this book....) But if the Goodreads community tells me I'm missing something, I could be convinced pretty easily, because it didn't take very long to read this one...

Anyway, now I've read it... and there's no more kids at home to read it... I'll be curious to see if, a generation from now, it's still considered popular....

3.5 Stars

This was a re-read of a book I was forced to read in middle school. I recall liking it but not remembering too many details. Reading it as an adult, I definitely think it's a great book and a good adventure story.

To Build a Fire Meets Castaway (minus Wilson) is what was running through my mind as I'm reading this story: 13 yr old Brian is in a single-engine airplane on his way to his father's for the summer when it crashes into the Canadian wilderness. He is all by himself with nothing but a hatchet that his mother had given him, and he must figure out how to survive while maintaining hope that he will be rescued.

I love reading these stories, but they also give me a bit of anxiety since I always try and put myself in that situation. I think, "What would I do?". Well, considering my idea of camping is a working toilet and an air mattress, I would be a goner for sure.

I think I'm being generous with my rating of 2 stars. But...you know what, sometimes I feel like being nice. Only sometimes, though.

I first read this when I was in 6th grade (Mr. Tietze's class, *holla*). I think I liked it but I don't really remember. So, since Mr. Tietze was the best teacher I've ever had, that is the reason for me being generous in terms of this rating.

Since re-reading it, I realize how stupid this book is. It didn't make sense. Why on earth would a mom give her 13 year old son a hatchet? Especially at a difficult time in his life--3 months after his parents' divorce--and when he's about to leave her for a little while to visit his dad? It's like she's saying, "Hey, son, I pretty much don't like your dad anymore, so I'm going to give you, umm, this nice, little, umm, gift. Yeah...a gift. Now, if you have any problems with your dad, umm, don't call me. Umm...just use your head...and this hatchet..." I mean, come on! No mom would randomly give her son a hatchet as a going-away gift, especially when he's about to board a plane.

Another problem with this book was that it took the kid forever to realize that there are fish in the lake. Since he didn't think to look in the lake for food, he had been eating berries and trying to hunt "fool birds". Yep, well, who's the fool, now? You didn't think to look in the big ol' water hole that your plane crashed into, to search for food? Okaaaaay, so I'll give you a break. I mean, you must've been exhausted after surviving a crash and creating a shelter and warding off attacks of porcupines and moose. So I'll be lenient. But for goodness' sake! After all the times you washed in the water, found turtle eggs on the shore, and drank from the lake, why didn't you think to go fishing sooner? Poor boy.

I pity the fool.

PS: What in the world did his parents' divorce have anything to do with this book? NOTHING. NOTHING. NOTHING. Oh, wait, no, I just came to the conclusion that if his parents hadn't been divorced then he never would've gotten on the plane to visit his dad, never would've crashed, and never would've been stranded in Canada, eh? So, essentially, it's his dad's fault for all the trouble this boy had to go through!!!! Bad dad. But if it weren't for his mom giving him that hatchet as a going away gift, then he wouldn't have survived. Good mom. You're still a cheater, though.

Great adventure story for young adults. This was my family's introduction to Paulsen and it was a treat. Intense in places, not for very young children but very insightful and heartwarming. Teaches important lessons about self-reliance, character, determination, etc., while never becoming preachy. Story at its best.

Best survival book i have read in my lifetime. I hope the tornado hit the moose.

I loved this book because it has lots of hard times that he had. it also was exiting. I like the part when he gets beat up by a moose

Overall Rating : A+

Rereading from my childhood and I forgot how short this book is. But it's simple and wonderful and the way it's written can give you pause for thought on nature, wilderness, and simply finding the will to survive.

It brought joy to my heart rereading this after so many years. I definitely rate this under ageless classics that will never be forgotten.

HATCHET by Gary Paulsen

Brain doesn't think his life will ever be the same after his parents get divorced but his life is about to take an even bigger twist as the plain he is on crashes into Canadian wilderness. alone in the wild, stranded on a piece of jutting out land Brain will try his hardest to survive. Throughout the book I admired his constant positive attitude even when he felt like giving up because without it he would have been dead. It was amazing to read about the number of ways Brain used his hatchet or how a hatchet can be used. Brian used the tool to create fire, to make more tools, and use it for hunting.

When Brain tried to hunt fish, he would fail and have to try again and tweak or adapt his tool or his approach before he could get a meal. This made me think about how we must have evolved from millions of years ago. The caveman had to apply the same process of making mistakes and learning from them, trying new things to get a meal. We now have our meals prepared and available in ready-to-eat packets in our modern world.
the interesting thing about the book was that even though it did not put me at the edge of my seat I could not put the book down.
If you liked "Escape under the forever sky" you very lightly will like "Hatchet".