I think that much of what makes Brian Robeson such a compelling figure is the way that his character reflects the life and philosophy of author Gary Paulsen. Brian is an intensely autobiographical creation, and the spirit of personal independence and craving for nothing more than to just be a part of the wilderness—a craving that had its origin in the first book of his adventures, Hatchet—is clearly the heartfelt desire of Gary Paulsen played out on the page, in a situation that he has imagined into being so that he can vicariously live out his own dreams of life in the wild through Brian's unique odyssey. From what I can tell, Brian's Return is a sequel to the storyline as it runs through The River, rather than through the alternate sequel, Brian's Winter. It's not easy to tell for sure, but references in Brian's Return indicate that Brian had returned once before to the wilderness spot where it had all started with his plane crash, rather than that he had spent the winter out there alone and had learned to survive the experience of the ungodly cold, as was the case in Brian's Winter. Then again, maybe there's a way to reconcile the story so that the reader can choose to go with either sequel as the basis for Brian's Return. Is it possible that the events recorded in Brian's Winter could have actually occurred before those of The River, so that the first sequel could be brought into accord with either original storyline? Readers who have gone through all of the books about Brian will wonder about these things, and there's a lot of information to pay attention to in order to be able to mentally set it all right. It's just not always easy to readjust to regular life after a shakeup like the one that hit Brian when the small plane he was in crashed and he became stranded on his own in the woods for so many weeks, with nothing to help him survive but a rudimentary hatchet and his own wits. Brian is back home, now, but though he has left the woods behind, the woods haven't returned the favor; he has been changed by the harrowing trials of his ordeal into a different person, and trying to get along in the "real world" as if nothing essential has changed proves to be an impossibility. After crossing a line with a violent act (albeit in self-defense) against a high school peer, Brian goes to see a counselor to help him decide what his next move should be. Caleb, a tall man built like a linebacker but with the thoughtful consideration of a philosopher, coaxes Brian to speak about what it was like living by himself in the wilderness. Having gone blind due to a freak illness several years back, Caleb can imagine the glorious outdoor settings that Brian describes with a rich intensity that eludes most other people, and the incredible tales that Brian tells open a window through which Caleb can once again experience the visual majesty of the world around himself. Caleb soon realizes that there's nothing wrong with Brian; he simply needs the wilderness, and there's nothing that can be done to take that desire out of him now that he's experienced its wonder and lived to want more of it. With the encouragement and support of Caleb, Brian convinces his mother to let him go back again to the place where he feels he first came to understand his own soul, and live there indefinitely. The trip is not an impromptu one this time around, though, and Brian plans and plots carefully to bring along the exact kinds of equipment that he will need to subsist in the wilderness for a long time. He is going back to where it all started, and of his own volition, but this time Brian will have the tools at his disposal to have a realistic shot at dealing with whatever surprises nature has in store for him. There is an adjustment period even for an experienced woodsman like Brian, but the real test of his ability to reassimilate to the dangerous outdoors will come when he's faced with a threat so raw and unpredictable that his response could never be tested ahead of time. Only if Brian can face down the greatest terrors of nature will he have proven his ability to become part of that nature and rise above its ever-present perils as a hunter, not becoming one of the unfortunate hunted. Will he be able to make it by himself in a world where eat or be eaten reigns as the supreme law of the land? I sort of found myself wishing that this book were longer, and covered more of what happened after Brian made his decision to return to the wilderness that had so claimed his heart and soul. Brian's Return is a very short book, and leaves off not far into Brian's latest adventure. The story ends before his time back in the wild really has progressed far at all, and I'm sure that it left readers with a strong desire for a fifth book, a desire that would eventually be satiated with the publication of Brian's Hunt. All in all, I think that Brian's Return is a good wilderness adventure story, with even more to offer from a nonfiction standpoint of describing survival techniques and tips than the previous three Brian Robeson novels, and I believe that anyone who enjoyed those first three will definitely want to read this one. I would give two and a half stars to Brian's Return.
December 18, 2014Brian already has a lot of experience from the last time he was in the woods which made things easier for him. First, he knew how to catch fish. Since he had perfected his list he didn't have the best the best fishing equipment, but handy fishing supplies. This made it much easier for Brian. Secondly, he is aware of the sounds in the forest or nature. "There was a scuffling outside and outside and he thought of a bear and how stupid he'd been to leave his pack on the ground next to the tent"(Paulsen 46). Overall, Brian already has knowledge that he going to need.In "Chapter 9" Gary Paulsen uses a lot of personification. First he says the Brian "killed" the fire with the water. This is personification because fire doesn't live. Gary also says that Hunger is a friend. "Hunger was an old friend"(Paulsen 47). In all, Gary Paulsen is creative in his writing by using personification.In this book Brian finds out that he is not the only one who thinks the way he thinks. In the plane Brian meets fishermen who would also recommend the woods to him. They say that nature isn't important to many people. The two fishermen also tell Brian that he is very lucky. "'You must have the woods in you then'"(Paulsen 50). What the two men mean by that is that he is lucky to have a different passion than other kids in his age. Overall, Brian is happy when he meets two people that understand his point of view and encourage him to keep doing what he loves. January 9, 2015Throughout the chapters, Brian plans things out very carefully. First he looks if everything is in place when he uses his canoe so he wouldn't lose anything. "If he fell or the canoe rolled he would not lose all his gear"(Paulsen 62). Another way Brian does things carefully is that he makes sure a bear wouldn't be able to smell food rests. He does that by burying fish bones deep into the ground. Overall, Brian tries to take care of everything for his own safety.In the woods Brian has to deal a lot with wild animals. First, a doe jumped into his canoe. "Later, when he had time to think, he decided that flies and mosquitos were attacking he eyes, and she was momentarily blinded"(Paulsen 64). Another way Brian had to deal with wild is that he met a bear across his journey. When the bear saw him it went wild and tried to hunt Brian. In all, Brian has to be careful with animals when he's alone in the woods.Since Brian isn't always in nature he kind of lost his skills. First, he accidentally cut him self with arrow while sleeping. This meant that Brian wasn't ready for things like that to happen. "Great, he thought. I've shot my self in the leg"(Paulsen 78). Another reason he lost his skills is that he forgot to dig a drench around his shelter for the rain to go in. That way he could have prevented the mess in the night where everything became wet. Overall, Brian has to get used to the wild again.January 16, 2015It was weird for Brian to find another person in the wilderness. First, it was weird because Canada is enormous. Brian thought "Where did he come from? Why was he here"(Paulsen 97). Another reason it was weird for Brian to meet him because he didn't have any supplies. All he was was a canoe and a blanket. In all, Brian was baffled about the man.As Brian went to the wood, he luckily already knew how to hunt. First he was lucky because he had fishing gear. The fishing gear saved him a lot of time to do things like looking for wood. He also has experience so he knows what he is doing and knows what he would change differently next time. "He was wearing tennis shoes and wished he had moccasins but they would have to serve"(Paulsen 94). Overall, Brian is lucky because he has experience and knowledge.The ending of this book seems incomplete. First it seems incomplete because the last paragraph isn't anything special. A sentence in the last paragraph is "The canoe came alive and seemed to leap ahead"(Paulsen 110). Another reason the end isn't that good is that there isn't a epilogue so the reader knows what happens. This probably is purposely like that so the readers takes time to think what could happen. In all, the ending isn't good.
What do You think about Brian's Return (2001)?
I'd read the first three books in the Hatchet series several years ago. I quite liked them, but had been reading them more from a parental perspective, to recommend to my boys. My three older boys all read Hatchet at my request, but didn't care to continue. Until #4. He asked if we had Hatchet, so I pulled it out for him. He read it quickly and really liked it. He read "Brian's Winter" and "The River" and asked about this book.I had this book in MY nightstand for the past couple years. I'd just never gotten around to reading it. I passed it to #4 and he read it in a couple days and wanted me to read it to. I downloaded a digital copy and read it in about a day. It is quite short.I remembered Hatched and Brian's Winter pretty well, only vague memories of "The River" but that didn't really impact my enjoyment. I did like this book, although it did seem really short, and didn't really have a lot of story, not as much as the others anyway. Although the author says right in the notes that "this is the last Brian book" I know there is another, Brian's Hunt (picking up where this one leaves off). #4 has already read it, I'm waiting for my digital hold from the library to come in.LOVE that my boy liked this series (he's in 5th grade). He even made cute matching bookmarks for each book!http://jenbsjourney.blogspot.com/2015...
—sh(e)reader
Genre: Adventure Pages: 144Brief summary: It is about a kid named Brian and he comes back from his trip from the wilderness. He comes back and he goes to school but he is not a normal kid he went to the wild stayed there he knows what is like. So he was interviewed a while back when he came home but a couple years passed by and this girl wanted to get to know him better. So they go somewhere to eat but when they do this football player really likes the girl that Brian was with so he gets mad and right when the walk out he opens the door really hard and hits the girl he likes right in the nose and she fell down. Then he started attacking Brian and then Brian had to use self defense. I don't want to give you to much information about this book so you have to read it to find out the rest.Comments: I think that this a great adventure book and that it is a good book for a 7th grader to read. If you like adventure books a lot then I think that you should read this book. But their are a lot more interesting things that happen later in the book but you just have to read it and see if you like it!
—Matthew M
I thought this book was an OK book, because I wish the book would have been longer and told more about Brian's adventure. The book told really descriptively how Brian connected with the woods, and how he found were he wants to be. I don't think that this was one of the best in the Hatchet series. The book starts out with Brian going back to school from the river trip in the previews book in the series. When he gets back from his trip his friends are all happy to see him and glad he is OK. But when he try's to hang out with his friends but finds himself disliking the city life. Towards the end of the year he plans to return to the wilderness so that he can enjoy his life and be happy. During his trip he meets this guy that is named Billy. Brian learns from Billy that the deer is his "medicine". I the end Brian finds his rightful place. I would recommend this book to fifth an sixth graders who love the wilderness and love a good adventure book.
—Tyler H
