What do You think about Brian's Winter (1998)?
I fell in love with the Canadian wilderness and Brian Robeson all over again in Brian’s Winter. This is like Hatchet, but with more evocative and breathtaking scenes of nature that left me awed and humbled. As an alternate sequel to the first book in the series, Brian’s Winter tackles the question of how Brian would survive through the winter if he hadn’t been rescued. Because Brian is more prepared than he was when he first crash-landed, this story has more fun elements amidst the danger; for example, Brian gets an unconventional pet, and moose encounter part two happens with better results. But the winter is a whole different animal, and it’s awesome to see how Brian uses the skills he learned in the fall and how he gains insight into the new problems that arise as the weather gets colder. And the imagery is more intense in Brian’s Winter – I was drooling throughout all the food scenes, and I froze along with Brian as he went outside into the snow to hunt. Overall, Brian’s Winter is a realistic and incredible journey that is another level up from Hatchet. Paper Breathers (Book Reviews & Discussions)
—Sophie
The alternate ending to Hatchet, but there’s not much different about this book than the original. Brian is still in the wild when the seasons change, but hunting and living in the winter doesn’t seem to cause him much problem. Even a bear attack barely harms him. The book is very long for the little amount of story it delivers, and the deus ex machina ending was a letdown. I knew it wasn’t possible for Brian to die in the wild, since there are more books coming after this one, but it REALLY would have made the book a lot better. I don’t recommend this at all.
—Allison
At the end of Hatchet, Im thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, who has been trapped in the Canadian wilderness after a plane accident, decides to dive for supplies from the submerged aircraft. I almost drown. I recover, among other things, an emergency transmitter. Within hours, a pilot receives the beacon and rescues me. The book ends with a note that I, learn wilderness survival through trial and error, probably would not have survived the upcoming harsh winter. I read Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen, which is part of a series. I have read several of his books because they're short reads and are easy to follow. In my opinion, the book has many genres such as realistic fiction, also adventure Gary Paulsen says that many readers wrote to him, complaining about the deus ex machina ending. This means that the readers wanted the author to conclude the story with an unlikely, though perhaps more palatable ending. In response, Paulsen wrote Brian's Winter, which explores what would have happened if Brian had not activated the transmitter. The story deals with Brian, still stranded at the L-shaped lake during the fall and winter, constructing a winter shelter, building snow shoes, being attacked by bear, and learning to make a more powerful bow. Eventually, Brian meets a family of Cree trappers, the Smallhorns, who help him return home. Brian also learned that he should "always pay attention to what's happening around him."
—Nathan W.
