Mixed feelings on this one. The plot was somewhat repetitive from the first book of the series(Hatchet) and the primary plot mover was implausible. However, for the primary audience of this book, boys who are about 10 - 12 years old who like adventure/survival books, it again featured the value of self-reliance and ingenuity. As an aside - I do not ever plan to go into the Canadian Northwoods with Brian. Seems to be hazardous to one's health.

This is a very good book by Gary Paulsen. It is the next book in the Hatchet series. Brian is asked to go back into the Canadian wilderness to teach a man named Derek how to survive in the wild. A couple days into their adventure Derek gets hit by lightning and goes into a coma. Brian has to get him out of the wild to safety. Brian plans to build a raft and travel over 100 miles down river to a trading post. Can he do it without getting Derek killed? This is a good book for kids and adults who likes adventure and the wilderness.

Entertaining; readable; but this is more like a short story follow-up to Hatchet, and not nearly as good. Which is interesting, because that's Brian's reaction when he goes back into the wilderness, after his true survival experience, with a psychologist who wants to write about how he managed to survive, so that the psychologist can use the information for the training of military and other governmental employees being trained in survival.

In this story, Brian has almost as much to do, but because (1) he already learned almost everything in the first book; and (2) what he has to learn is really one thing, the book is much shorter. It also ends rather suddenly, and is in general more like a publisher's great idea to keep kids reading than an inspired idea of the author's.

tGary Paulsen’s The River is about a boy who was stranded in the Canadian wilderness many years before. Brian is asked to go back and relive his survival experience in order to be examined. The River is the third book in the Hatchet series, which is about Brian’s survival after his bush plane crashed. The genre of this book is adventure fiction.
tBrian Robeson, a boy who survived in the Canadian wilderness for fifty-four days, never wanted to relive his experience again. Unfortunately, two men wanted Brian to go back and survive again. The men were from a military survival school and wanted to learn from Brian in the woods. He warns them of the challenges, and eventually decides to go. When they arrive at the wilderness, Brian makes the executive decision by leaving all of the supplies on the bush plane. As Brian and the other man, Derek, begin surviving, Brian starts to change back to the way he was during his previous survival experience. The two started to build their campsite with only having pocket knives. After they finished the camp, a freak storm showed up. During the storm, Derek reached for their walkie-talkie and SPOILER ALERT: was struck by lightning. Brian began to make a raft to get Derek, who was now in a coma, to the nearest trading post. Will Brian get Derek to safety or will they both perish in the harsh conditions of the river?
tI would give The River a four out of five rating. I always like reading books that have to do with wildlife and adventure because I can relate very well to them. Also, this book keeps the reader on the edge of their seats. Anything can happen in the wilderness, and Gary Paulsen depicts that well in his book. I highly recommend The River to any reader but suggest reading the prequels, Hatchet and Brian’s Winter, first.

Brian was very different in this book and not true to his character. He was like a super hero or something he wasn't like Brian. I also don't understand why he would willing go back to the place which caused him to cut himself, It doesn't make sense and seems to be written just because people wanted a sequel. It seems like it should have another book before it since we are not aware of all of the changes that have happened and have to figure it out on our own.

Summary:
"We want you to do it again."
These words, spoken to Brian Robeson, will change his life. Two years earlier, Brian was stranded alone in the wilderness for 54 days with nothing but a small hatchet. Yet he survived.
Now the government wants him to go back into the wilderness so that astronauts and the military can learn the survival techniques that kept Brian alive. Soon the project backfires, though, leaving Brian with a wounded partner and a long river to navigate. His only hope is to build a raft and try to transport the injured man a hundred miles downstream to a trading post - if the map he has is accurate.
Elements that I liked:
WOW! I LOVED this book!!! The writing style sucked you in, to where you couldn't put it down. I truly felt like I was apart of the story, and I really understood Brian. The storyline was brilliant and I'm so glad I decided to pick this amazing book up.
The audiobook was fantastic, and the performance was impeccable. It's not very long, so that's good. It was a nice listening experience

The book I read was The River by Gary Paulsen. The main characters were Brain and Derek in the wilderness. The conflict was if they were going to live or die with nothing in the wild forests. I like this book because there are times when they go through hard times and they solve it with some risky ways. I would recommend this to people who want to continue the Brian's saga because The River continues the story from the previous book.

“The River”

This book by Gary Paulsen entitled “The River” is the second book of his series which followed “The Hatchet”. I think you will enjoy Paulsen’s book about bravery, determination, and the strong will to survive.
The book begins with Brian at his home where he is approached by two government agents and a psychologist that want him to go back out into the wild. Brian not only survived a plane crash two years prior but was able to survive being stranded on an island for 56 days. The agents would like him to return to where he was stranded, along with Derek, the psychologist, so he take notes on all the things Brian uses in order to survive. They would use this information to teach military and astronauts, different ways of survival.
After Brian convinces his Mom that he must do this because he may be the only one that can, they take a private plane and are left in the wilderness alone. Derek has his pen and notebook ready to capture all of the things that Brian does in order to stay alive.
Soon after arriving to the wilderness, a storm that Brian believes will pass over them, turns into a fierce thunderstorm. Derek and Brian both awaken to lightning and the sound of thunder. Derek reaches for the emergency radio when a bolt of lightning hits a large tree and travels down the tree and strikes Derek. Brian believes that Derek is dead but figures out that he is actually in a coma. Brian realizes the psychologist does not have much time and in order to save him, he will need to build a raft so he is able to get him down the river to the Brannock Trading Post. During his journey, he experiences many challenges that could have taken his life and the life of the psychologist. Brian was never willing to give up and let mother nature win.
I enjoyed the book because it kept you thinking about what may happen next. Brian had not only kept himself alive but he had to worry about saving someone he barely knew. It showed his bravery and determination to never give up hope.
I would recommend this book to any age group but I think it would be more suited for teenagers because it is an easy read. I found that it left me wanting to know what was going to happen next. It truly shows that if you are determined enough to make something happen, it will.

First of all, I never really liked reading books until I read the book "Hatchet". This book really peaked my interest do to all the action and mystery involved. This series is pretty much based on the outdoors which I really enjoy. A basic rundown on the entire book, try not without any spoilers, is basically that Brian opened his door one day to 3 men at the door. They wanted to know if it was okay that he go back and try to survive in the wilderness under a semi-controlled survival. They all work in a military survival school and one of them wants to go with Brian to figure out his thoughts and how he did it, the man, Derek, is a psychologist. When Brian's mom comes home, they all discuss about whether or not Brian should accept. They then all agree. When they are packing the plane to leave, Brian decides it would be a good idea to leave all the emergency gear behind, which his mom requested be brought, but a radio because Brian didn't have all this fancy gear, only a hatchet and a pocket knife, to survive so it would be more accurate. Derek, agrees and when they land it reminds Brian from "The Time". They are very successful for the next week or so until one day really catches Brian off guard. It was showing signs of a major storm. All the fool-birds stopped singing which made Brian realize he should've brought more supplies. There is lots of lightning and Brian tells Derek to phone in for an emergency for a plane or helicopter and at that moment....... BAMMMM! Derek gets struck by lightning!! Brian has to figure out how to get an UNCONSCIOUS 200 lb man to safety so he uses the map found in Derek's briefcase and finds an old trade-shop so Brian prepares for the next few days and some bad things happen to Derek that Brian didn't expect he would cause (I don't want to spoil it) but he manages to build a raft and goes on a "trip" down "The River" (hens the name of the book......), on a very scary and possibly dangerous trip. Read the book to find out the rest! This is a very good book though.

This series by Paulsen is spectacular. They are great for all ages, especially pre-teen to early teen male readers that love nature. They are adventurous, move quickly, and are not overwrought with unnecessary detail.

A fun read and a nice look back at Brian and his situation. I had fun revisiting the series (in anticipation of sharing the books with my daughter). This short installment doesn't quite recapture the same magic and adventurous spirit of Hatchet, but Brian's characterization is consistent and the story is a nod to the character's arc and growth. Seems a bit slapdash in its arrangement and quick in its execution...but it's a okay way to fill an afternoon.

I read Hatchet with my students and thought it'd be nice to continue the series. I've had to suspend disbelief a few times (ie. Who charters a bushplane in New York state to get to the Yukon?), but surviving a direct lightning strike? That's a new one Mr. Paulsen. I had a colleague whose spouse got hit with a ground strike and that knocked them senseless for a few weeks. Not quite what a direct hit would look like, but it would be pretty ugly.

Anyway, weakest of the series, but still an enjoyable read.