Hatchet

Paulsen, G. (1987). Hatchet. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

               Brian Robeson is a thirteen year old who is troubled with his parents' divorce. He is carrying with him what he feels is the reason behind his parents' divorce as he calls the "The Secret".  Brian is visiting his father for the first time in Canada since the divorce.  His mother sends him off on a single engine plane to spend the summer with his dad.  As he is traveling across Canada, the pilot suffers a heart attack. Their plane crashes into a lake leaving Brian all alone.  For fifty-four days, Brian is alone and all that he has is a hatchet that his mother gave him. He faces many obstacles such as finding food, building shelter, starting and maintaining a fire and to dealing with animals. Then a tornado goes through the area and it lifts the plane out of the lake. Brian gets into the plane and recovers the emergency survival pack. In it he finds many things that he could use like matches, a sleeping bag, cooking tools, bandages and most of all, an emergency transmitter. After pushing the buttons, Brian assumes that it is broken. Then of all of a sudden a plane touches down on the lake and the pilot asks, if he is the kid that went missing. After his rescue, Brian goes back to his life but as a different person. 

            This realistic fiction book is a great adventure story for boys as well as girls.  Its tale of surviving in the Canada forest appeals to youth.  The character, Brian faces the wild but through his courage, self-determination and being able to problem solve and get out of some serious situations.  Readers can continue to read and learn more about Brian in the sequels that Paulsen wrote about him. 

Chance, R. (2014). Young adult literature in action: A librarian's guide. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.