If you have read the other 4 books, then you must read book 5. Paulsen has kept the integrity of Brian as needed throughout to end the series. While you wouldn't expect one kid to go through so many adventures and dangers, the writing doesn't make you think otherwise or "no-way" this would happen. Paulsen writes this series so well, that you could totally expect it all to happen. Brian, preferring to living on his own in the woods, finds a hurt dog and another adventure begins.

I really love this series and I want my son to read it when he gets to be 12. I would suggest middle grade (12 yo and up) to read as it certainly takes some heavy psychological issues in context. This one has a little more graphic death and scary encounters in it as well. As I finally finished the series, I was happy that I did. I also think I learned something too if I was ever to get lost in the woods.

In the book brian's hunt, brian goes back to the wilderness to live by himself in the woods of Canada. In the spring he goes downriver to see some friends and on the way he seen a dog, he noticed it was hurt and helped it back to health. When he got to the camp noone was there, he went to the cabin and noticed blood and bear claw marks on the wood and bear tracks. He started to look around and seen that the boat was gone. when he noticed that the bear killed the dog he fallowed the tracks. After a wile of fallowing them he noticed he kept coming back to the same spot and realized the bear was fallowing him too. He waited for the bear and he shot it with his friends gun.

This is a good book for teenagers and people that like to be in the outdoors. It is full of adventure and action. The book is an easy read for all ages.

While the other books of this series mainly focused on Brian’s survival, this book showed his skills and philosophy stronger than the others. His way of life and his thoughts were written in the easy flowing and powerful words of Gary Paulsen, who is one of my all time favorite authors!! I have decided to read the entire five books every year from now on, because they never get boring and remind me to life mindful and in harmony with nature! The action at the end of this book (Brian’s bear hunt) was a little too short in my taste. I would have loved to get a more drawn out picture of Brian and the dog working as a team and maybe the bear attacking Brian twice, once where he was wounded and the second time to finish the kill. I really hope there will be more books in this series. The afterword was promising on that end. Until then, I give praise to the story and the writing style and enjoy this book.

Another short sequel to Hatchet. Brian finds a dog that’s been severely injured. He stitches up the wound, feeds him fish and meat, and nurses him back to health. They form a bond. The dog leads him to a cabin where his wilderness family lives. They discover that a grizzly had attacked and killed the parents. The boy and dog search and find a terrified daughter. He buries the dead and radios for help to take the girl to other family. Armed with his bow, Brian and the dog then go after the bear, but soon discover the bear is tracking them.

Brian Roberson now sixteen years old, and back in his element of the Canadian Northwest finds a wounded dog, and nurses it back to health. The mystery to Brian is where did the dog come from, and who does it belong to? Deciding to head north to visit a Cree family that he knows, Brian finds the answers he was looking for, but the results aren't pretty, and takes Brian on a hunt that may cost him his life.

Gary Paulsen’s Brian’s Hunt is the fifth and final Brian book. This book is about Brian Robeson, who left civilization, and is just living in the wilderness. Brian is sleeping in his canoe one night, and he heard something walking towards him. He came to realize it is a female dog. The dog has a big flap of skin torn off her back, and Brian asks himself, “Where did she come from?” “How did this happen?” Brian searches for his Cree friends that he has met before. His instincts tell him to head north, but Brian has no idea why. The dog and he pack their things and go out to search for the Crees. Brian locates their reservation and unfortunately finds David and Anne (The parents of Susan) dead from a bear attack. Brian searches the bear tracks to plot out the attack, and locates Susan. Brian feels he needs to search and kill the bear that did this-his hunt. He knows the bears print, and all about the bear. During the search he finds a fresh print and knows that he has gone from predator to prey; the bear is on him before he can grab his arrows. Brian knows it is over, until he is saved by his dog-in his surprise-and left with just a dislocated shoulder. I think it is very well written because the climax, the bear hunt, is very entertaining, and was very suspenseful which was one of its strengths. I really liked all of the books because Gary Paulsen always came into great detail about all of Brian’s surroundings. However, its weakness was that it was boring, once again, reading about Brian’s everyday survival. I chose this book because I was finishing Gary Paulsen’s Brian series, and I really enjoyed it. (298 words)

Ugh. Hated it, mainly because I don't like hearing about how Brian shot his arrow and hit the rabbit in just the right spot. Half the book was just Brian tracking. Boring! There was an admittedly cool part where Brian finds the camp, but other than that, I hated it.

Brians Hunt

Brian is a sixteen year old boy that likes to live out in the woods. Now in the spring he has to come home and do his studies because he is still in school. Although he is homeschooled, he still has to get his education. When fall and summer come, he is out in the woods.


He is going on his hunting trip, up in Minnesota. He is all by himself, and all he has is a recurve bow, wooden arrows, some rope , a tin pot, knife,and a canoe. He starts his journey in his canoe and he is going to say hi to some of his old friends. They helped him out last winter. On his way to where he is going to camp and see a lot of wildlife. Soon he finds a place to camp for the night. The next morning he get in his canoe and floats near the shore and gets some fish to eat for breakfast. Before he gets back to his camp ,he sees a dog . Brain is careful because the dog might have be vicious. Soon he realizes that it is hurt. Then he brings the dog with him to go to his friends . When he gets to his friend's cabin he sees that the dog was not normal. Then Brian goes and checks the cabin and finds his friend has died. Then he goes to find the rest of the family, but they are all dead too. Then he makes them a small grave for them both, but he is wondering where was the girl. She was missing. Brian walks around looking for her and then he noticed that there were was a missing canoe. He gets back in his canoe and finds her in her canoe. She was shivering with fear. She soon told Brian that a bear had attracted her family, and she was lucky to have gotten away. Now this was personal, so he promised that he would get the bear that killed her family. She called in a plane to take her to her aunt's house. Brian stayed there because he was going to kill that bear. So Brian gets tracking. He realized that that the bear did not like to go in the hill area . Brian has been tracking the bear for a day and a half ,and then he finds the bear’s kill ,and it was fresh. Within a second, the bear was on top of him. The bear knocks his bow and arrow out of Brian's hands . Then Brian gets a hold of an arrow and stabs the bear with it ,but it didn't hit any vital organs. Brian is lucky that he got another arrow and that one did the job done.


I thought the character Brian changed a lot throughout this book. In the beginning of the book he is just set on having fun and living in the wilderness. By the end of the book he is caring and wants to get the bear that killed his friend.


I think that his book is good for boys age seven to sixteen because it is about survival ,and I also think that this book is an action book. It would also interest people who like hunting and fishing.

I read  Brian’s Return and was looking forward to this novel. Quick read.
I enjoyed Author’s note at the end  Gary Paulsen says to “ never say never” since he said Bria's saga #4 was his last; also appreciated his talk on Bears. Since they seem to be coming out of the woods into family swimming pools etc. I did think some of this story was a bit too gruesome. I understand it is an adventure so it was realistic.

Personal Response: I read this book called Brian’s Hunt and I thought that it was a good book. I think it is cool to read these types of books. I can relate to this book because I love the outdoors and enjoy adventures.


Plot: Brian’s Hunt by Gary Paulsen, and it was a good book in my mind.It is about a teenager named Brian who loves the outdoors. He was on a 56 day journey on an island in which he learns to live off the land. While alone on the island he is rescued by a family who lives there. One night he heard a dog whimpering and went to see what was wrong. The dog turned out to be hurt. It had a big cut in the side and in which he stitches it up with fishing line. He then realizes it is a house dog and heads out to find the family. He ends up finding both parents were mauled by a bear and their daughter is nowhere to be found. He finally finds her hiding in a boat and tells her what has happened. Brian is now on a mission to kill the bear. He finds the bear and ends up killing it.


Characterization: Brain is the main character in the book. He is 16 years old and loves the outdoors. He is very nice kid and shows a ton of bravery by killing the bear.

Recommendation: I would rate this book a four out of five because it overall is a great story but it does drags on a little bit. I would recommend Brian’s Hunt to 3rd and up because it doesn't take a lot of reading and it is kind of short. If you enjoy hunting or an outdoor story this is a good book to read.Both girls and boys would enjoy this book.

Brian returns to the wild. His parents have allowed him to in a way of being homeschooled.

He befriends a dog, and finds that his Cree friends have been killed by a bear. He then tracks and finds their daughter, Susan (a love interest?) who has fled from the bear attack.

He tracks and kills the bear.

Apart from the bear attack - which does fight back, I have the same criticism, everything comes too easily for him. He even stitches up the dog well despite it being his first time, and the dog doesn't mind, then the dog is a great tracking dog!! He kills everything he hunts, with only 1 slight arrow deflection!

His emotionally state is permanently totally chilled - nothing really fases him, apart from finding the dead bobies.

This is unbelievable and irritating.

The conclusion of the Hatchet Brian adventure series. Probably one of the best ones, and the saddest. His writing/Grammer and repetitiveness that people complained about in previous books is not there or not as much. You could say he matured his writing by this point.
The story is short, only 105 pages. I read it in a couple hours. I have no regrets reading this series and enjoyed evey minuet of it.
I do wish Paulsen would have incorporated more of Brian's Return with maybe some more writing back to his therapist Carl. Just to kinda tie it in more or something.
I found I was really fond that Brian finding a hurt dog and helped and enjoyed her company, was like "filling a hole he didn't know he had", to quote the book.
One thing I liked bout this series. Even though it was a true story. It was real, mostly. The senerios we're more realistic.