The book Im reading is The River I think it's a good book so far. In the beginning I learned that Brian was Trapped in the wilderness and becomes famous for being trapped there. With all his fame he got I would feel the same way because I wouldn't want all the press following me either I would try to stay hidden. I also think that Brian made a big mistake because it was during the night and three men came up to his door looking for him, if you ask me or my opinion I would say that you better not answer that door, but guess what Brian did. I mean why would you want to open the door if they are looking for you, I know I wouldn't and then he lets them into his house that's one other thing I wouldn't do. I mean they know who you are they could just kill you and take the money he has been getting from being famous.

The River is insane. Like if you ever got thrown in the situation Brian went through in this book you would go insane. He was sent by the government to again go get lost in the woods and survive, but this Brian would have a buddy with him named Derek. Things going as Gary Pualsen does so though Derek gets in a coma. So that sets up the insane adventure. Thats why i give this story 5 stars because its totally crazy and unbelievable. All the river scenes (hints the name) get more miserable and intense everyday he is on the boat. The River will make you never want to get lost in the woods. Brian just accomplished a huge human feat and that's just cool on its own right.

Brian has to overcome another adventure to challenge him when Derek is struck by lightning. This shows how Brian is a fighter and can overcome obstacles that are put in front of him. Brian shows that he is a survivor.

A contrived story about Brian

Gary Paulsen explains that he wrote The River because it was demanded of him

I received literally thousands of letters (sometimes fifty or sixty a day) from readers interested in Brian, who did not want him to end with Hatchet.

In response Paulsen contrived this story of Brian's further adventures in the Canadian wilderness.

I say "contrived" because that's the way it feels. Both the excuse for getting Brian back into the wilderness and the event that leaves him "with a wounded partner and a long river to navigate", as the publisher's blurb summarizes it -- both of them feel contrived. In fact, fairly early in the book there is a point where Brian looks at what he and his partner Derek are doing and thinks, "It was all wrong."

Well, that feeling of Brian's is essentially my feeling about this whole story.

Now, I will say, I still enjoyed it quite a lot. All fiction is contrivance, and The River is certainly better than most. I think Hatchet spoiled me. I intend to continue with the series.

Blog review.

Nothing can beat Hatchet

A great sequel to part 1. A read it on a Saturday evening. However, in the beginning I found some things a little over the top like that they only wanted Brian for the job. Still, this made a good read for a couple of hours and I enjoyed it. I would be happy to read part 3 of this series.

All my reviews can be found at: http://jessicasreadingroom.com
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This review will appear on my site on May 25, 2021.
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As a part of May’s prompt for #Diverseathon2021 I am continuing the Brian’s Saga series by Gary Paulsen.

It’s been two years since Brian survived living in the Canadian wilderness and now the government wants him to do it again but his time showing someone how he managed to survive. Brian decides to do this as he couldn’t NOT help.

So begins Brian’s second adventure in the wilderness, but this time he is not alone. This time should have been different but things do not always go according to plan. Brian’s associate is injured and Brian is basically forced to fend for himself and the injured man. Should Brian wait for help to eventually come or should they travel down the river? Brian decides to go down the river as he believes the injured man will not survive.

Very similar to Hatchet, yet also different, The River is also another survival story. There are some things that you may have to suspend disbelief ( getting struck by lightning and very quickly building a boat, let alone how much traveling was done on the river) but remember the target audience of this series is middle grades boys, so this really should not be an issue. I really enjoyed The River and I am looking forward to what may happen next in the series, but will Brian really agree to go out in the wilderness again??? After this second trip I would say “NO MORE!” I doubt that I myself would have agreed to go on another trip after surviving nearly two months in the wilderness… alone.

Like Hatchet,The River was also narrated by Peter Coyote. I had the same issue with The River as I did with Hatchet with the accompanying music.

The River is recommended!

PERSONAL RESPONSE
After reading Hatchet I had high expectations on this book and Gary Paulsen wrote a book that crushed them. This book is so well written and inspiring it´s insane. I honestly love this book. just like Hatchet this book shows that i am lucky to live in a house and not have to live off the land for myself.
PLOT SUMMARY
Brian is asked to go back out into the wild for a man named Derek and he goes. After a couple days out they encounter a massive thunderstorm and Derek ends up being struck by lightning and is knocked unconscious. Know Brian needs to get him to safety. Brian finds a map and sees that there is a house down river. Brian makes a raft from logs, and drags it down to the river. Then he has to pull Derek down to the raft and he begins his journey on the river. It is a hard journey, because of Derek's weight plus the eight of the raft. Derek will also die of dehydration if Brian cant make it down the river.
RECOMMENDATION
Anyone who has read Hatchet needs to read this book. It is just as good as Hatchet and shows Brian going through more trouble in the wild. Its is easy to read and an easy plot to follow, so it is a good book for middle schoolers.

A nice #throwback read here! I loved reading Hatchet when I was in Junior High School and never read this sequel.

It was a quick, easy read that was action packed and entertaining. It doesn’t pack the same punch as Hatchet but is still a fun little journey down the river.

As I wrap this book up, I see that there is another sequel to Hatchet that I’ll have to read sometime soon!

I was sincerely disappointed in this sequel to Hatchet especially in consideration of the fact that Hatchet was far better than I'd imagined it would be. I find it hard to believe that many 15-year-old American kids would possess the driving character traits Paulsen has endowed the main character, Brian Robeson, within The River.

In the interest of preserving the details of the content and storyline, I will not give away the essence of the plot to substantiate my review. I can say this, the only part of the tale that is truly believable in this time and culture occurs when Brian wrestles with his conscience over whether to continue to help the other person with him or to abandon him and continue alone.

Western society of the 21st Century practically revolves around the preservation and success of self even at the cost of others. It is this fact that makes the entire premise of The River not only hard to imagine, much less believe, but even more than that - it borders on the absolutely ridiculous.

In the first book, 13-year old Brian survived in the woods by himself for almost 2 months. A couple of years later, he is asked to go back to the woods, along with a psychologist, to show how he survived the first time so those skills can be taught to others. Unfortunately, things go wrong when they get out there, and Brian needs to save not only himself, but the psychologist, as well.

I really enjoyed this. Ok, not a realistic scenario, but the book was still entertaining. I listened to the audio, which was well done. I just wish it had been a little longer – it was over so fast! Despite being short, it is fast-paced (which maybe made it feel shorter, still!).

"Well, to make it short, we want you to do it again."

When last we left Brian, he had just come out the other end of a harrowing survivathon in the woods: fifty-four days, alone with only a hatchet, of channeling his inner hunter-gatherer. It came to be known in Brian's mind as The Time—the experience that changed him, molded him, transformed him. His conception of food, of time, of nature, the way he approaches the luxuries of modern life—all had taken on a different tint from before.

Brian, now fifteen, is just beginning to adjust to his previous life when a government research group solicits him to replicate his experience for scientific study, in particular to help illuminate the psychological component behind the human will to survive that was surely in play during Brian's extemporized escapade. He would be accompanied by one other person, an amanuensis of sorts to chronicle Brian's thoughts and emotions in real time. This time, however, they would have supplies, including a two-way radio, but for emergency purposes only.

Brian registers a note of incredulity, not to mention trepidation, at having to relive the horrors he can't forget, but which shortly gives way to sincere interest. His mother objects, of course, on grounds of common sense and basic parental concern, but eventually comes around as well. If anyone could help others survive in similar situations, it's Brian. And so begins Part Deux of The Time.

Truth be told, there's really not much that sets The River apart from n  Hatchet.n Mishaps occur, things go from worse to horribly worse, instincts kick into sixth gear and Brian does what needs to be done. Sure, there's Derek, Brian's companion this time around, but for reasons that present themselves almost upon arrival, he brings little to the companionship side of the equation. Like the first, details are scarce; how Brian manages to build a sustainable raft is rushed through, as is the rest of the truncated misadventure.

Other than to cash in a crowd-pleasing sequel to a popular predecessor, there was no reason for this book to be written. This is a token case of 'been there, done that', and Paulsen should have pumped the brakes. But as I'm just now seeing, he didn't stop here, either; he churned out no less than three more clones for Brian and his readers to traipse through. While his teenage audience may derive some nourishment for their survivalist bug in these endless spinoffs, Paulsen would have done well to quit while he was ahead, or for that matter, behind.

Note: This review is republished from my official website.