I have to be honest. At first I was having a serious 'really?' moment as I started listening. The 'really?' was because this is a three-time Newberry Award winner, and I thought the prose was way too repetitive. The same word would be repeated three times. The same sentences twice. I was steeling myself to keep listening and hope it got better. It did. By the end of this novel, I totally realized why it is a Newberry Award winner.Hatchet is a story of survival. The protagonist is a thirteen-year-old city boy who ends up stranded in the Canadian wilderness when the pilot of the small plane he's flying in has a heart attack and dies. I have to tell you, I am very impressed with this kid. I think I would have freaked like nobody's business. He does freak out at first (and I don't blame him), but ultimately shows a fortitude that inspires awe in this reader. He goes from a scared, helpless boy to a survivor. The Brian that was has to be broken down and reassembled into a Brian that can survive his new reality. He learns how to meet his needs in the harsh wilderness, and he comes out of it forever changed. I love reading books/watching tv shows and movies about surviving. I don't know why, really. I don't even go camping or hiking, although I love the outdoors. I think it's because I love the idea of a person being resourceful and pitting their skills and mentality against the unprejudiced, often unsympathetic wild. Not conquering it, but learning to live in harmony, becoming a part of a vast ecosystem in a way that we can't do stuck in our comfortable city and surburban environs, another entity in the web of life. I would definitely recommend this book if you are of a similar mind. I liked that Brian doesn't get it too easy. Not at all. He has to learn from his mistakes, and take the advantages that providence sends his way. He learns to keep food in his belly, to make a secure shelter, and to appreciate and anticipate the dangers of his environment. And in the process, he finds peace. He looks inside and finds his true self. That's what solitude and a oneness with nature will bring. I have always felt my most at peace in two places: in a spirit-filled church or by myself and with my heart open in prayer; and outside, surrounded by nature. So I really appreciated this aspect of the book. Brian starts out a boy who is emotionally lost at sea when his father and mother divorce, weighted down with the knowledge of his mother's infidelity; and finds that what seemed like tragedy and the end of his world will not conquer him. If he can survive the harsh elements of nature, all by himself, he can live with his family's fragmentation, and live to see the next day and the days after that. I think this book is a metaphor for life. Life is harsh and we have to grow and change to survive it. We can't give up, descend into pity, and expect to be saved. We have to be strong and fight to save ourselves, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally.Although this book had a very shaky start, I do have to agree that this is a winner. And I tell you what, this young man had a lot of lessons to teach me, lessons he learns the hard way. That's the power of a good fiction novel for me.
basically, Biran is the main character in the story, he is getting on a plane to go visit his father; his parents are divorced. he also has a giant burden on his back, his mother was having an affair. before he leaves , his mother gives him a hatchet. after, he sets off, he talks with the pilot and has a little fun by piloting the airplane swerving and swoppoing up and down. until suddenly, the pilot has a heartattack becasue of gas and dies. brian is forced to fly the plane himself, but until the fuel runs out, he stops at a lake to kind of softne the impact.he wakes upon a beach. this starts him on his new journey, a journey to survive. this is kind of a rebirth for him; he learns to do things he would nt neccesarily do in life, but now that he has to, he is. he learns how to survive, he fends off cretures such as skinks, porcupines, bears, and mooses; he is able to be keep himself from starvation by findinf food among trees and the creatures of the wild such as fowls and rabbits and fish. he also creates his own shelter, fire,, his own weapons for hunting, a pond for which he keeps a stock of fish, and a list of things he makes so that his life is a little bit ore easier than it is in the wild( even though its not that easy in the first place). basically, one day, a tornado rips his location apart. he still survives, but when he goes outside, he sees that the plane he flew in was flipped up. he then figures out that there was a survival pack in the back of the plane; he goes and retireves it.after hard work, he ravages through the bag. he finds his own riches such as pots and pans, food, guns, radio which he immedialitey uses. he then feasts on packs of food and drink from the survival pack.until a plane comes and lands in the lake. he steps out and sees brian.the stroy ends with the epilouge wchich tells of brian and how he was the kid people had been looking for for over two months. how he had no fat in hsi body anymore and exploited the area in which he lived in and ws able to survive in.i really enjoyed this story. it seems like one of the stories that you know you can learn from if youre ever in brians situation. i know that if i was in the wilderness near a lake, i could proibably reenact his actions to survive; but id most defintiely need a hatchet, or he and i would naver ever be able to pull anything off. .....awesome story:)
What do You think about Hatchet (2000)?
If you want more action, the 2nd book "The River" has more. My favorite in the series is "Brian's Winter" where it's an alternate ending if Brian didn't get rescued.
—Ms. Foley
I.love.this.book.Seriously, I read this maybe in fourth grade? It was definitly in elementary school, because I remember it was at the same time that we we doing "survival skills"* in Girl Scouts. Not that I ever wanted to be trapped by myself in the wilderness, but I spent a lot of my time in my backyard pretending to find flint with my sister, and starting imaginary fires to keep warm. In winter we dug ourselves igloos. I always went camping with my parents, so this book started a lot of Q&A's with them about what to do if I get lost in the woods (Hint, No. 1 is STAY WHERE YOU ARE!). Any ways, its a great read for an elementary kid, and everyone should read it.* This was put in quotation marks because it was a total joke. I had been looking forward to these skills for quite some time, finally girl scouts was going to teach me what I wanted! Instead of knives they handed us popsicle sticks. For the love of God CUB SCOUTS get real knives. This was followed shortly on the heels of an outdoor cooking class where none of us were allowed near the fire. Basically we made banana boats, and then the instructor put the boats in and out of the coals for us. We learned how to build a fire with coals, not tinder. Agh. It was at this point that I decided Girl Scouts was NOT for me.
—Becky
Hatchet is a book about a thirteen year old boy, Brian Robeson, who goes through many experiences that ultimately gets him stranded in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. His only two survival tools, his mind and a hatchet, which was a present from his mother. Throughout the book, we learn all of the different ways how Brian learns to adapt to his new and unfamiliar surroundings.My thoughts:Hatchet is probably the worst book I have ever read, and I have read a lot of books. The only reason why I finished this book is because it was for a novel study. I cringed every single time the author wrote about "The Secret", which was a lot. Brian seemed so obsessed with this "Secret" to the point that it was repeated many times in a row. I didn't enjoy the author’s way of writing either. I found there was quite a few run on sentences and he brought up "The Secret" way too many times. Seriously Brian, just get over it!!!! Once I found a sentence that used the word "and" five different times. Talk about a run on sentence! Also, I found Brian’s way of thinking very frustrating at times. He seems so stupid in some parts of the book, I felt like I just wanted to bang my head against a wall. By the end of the novel study, I was ready to throw this book into the middle of the Canadian wilderness.Am I the only one that thinks you shouldn’t give a thirteen year old a hatchet? Seriously, how did he even get past security?Ok so overall, I think Hatchet is a terrible book. If you still want to read it after reading my review, I suggest you rent the book from the library, so you don’t waste your money buying it. I hope this review helped!
—Chynna
