Hatchet was one of my favorite books as a young boy; it fed my desire to travel far away from my suburban existence to face the unknown. And here was a boy forced into extraordinary circumstances who survived! I didn't care that it was fiction and highly unlikely at times. I teach Hatchet now to my 7th graders and they enjoy it (especially the boys) for the same reasons I did.I only recently discovered that Gary Paulsen wrote several sequels to Hatchet, three now to be exact. So I re-read Hatchet and then prepared to continue on new adventures into the wild with Brian Robeson; except that, from the first page, something about this story is not quite right.It starts with a ridiculous premise: A team of adults comes to Brian to admit that "we (being THE Army, THE astronauts, very vague here) pretend to survive. But nobody in our field has ever had to do it....We want you to teach us. Not from a book...but really teach us." This is just too much to believe. Having been in the U.S. Army, I can say that there is little here that Brian could actually teach a group of specially-trained adults about survival. But, I understand, it's a YA book, the premise can be silly (I guess, though I expect better from Paulsen); nevertheless, I soldiered on. Soon enough, Brian finds himself with an odd companion in the wild. I say "odd" because he is with a psychologist, you know, one with a PhD, but this man speaks with child-like wonder and follows Brian around writing down all of Brian's thoughts and actions, however trivial they might be...and they are trivial, believe me! Anyway, disaster soon strikes the extremely child-like pyschologist and Brian is left to save the day, in a plot that winds and weaves and rolls lazily by like the river that this story is appropriately named after. This story is smaller in scope, covering a mere couple of days, one week at the most, whereas the first novel covered a span of nearly two months. Prepare yourself for that, readers, and be prepared for a let-down.There are some issues that I'm not used to experiencing in a Gary Paulsen story; there is no real tension in the story; no real build-up to a climax; no real character development of Brian or any at all from his companion. Part of what made Hatchet so readable was that Brian discovered something new about himself and about his environment every moment he was in the wild. Here, Brian just states words along the likes of 'I've been here before." So have I, the reader, and I expected more. This feels like a cash-grab by Paulsen; there was no reason for this book to be written. I hope for better from the other sequels, and, again, I expect better from Gary Paulsen...
brian is such a tool. only maybe it's not brian's fault, maybe it's gary paulsen's fault for really trying to determine the limits of a reader's tolerance. i am comfortable with suspending disbelief - i watched lost well past the comfort point because of some innate need to see something through to its end (thanks, dad!) that impulse applies here as well - i will read all the books in this damn series because, like kasia, i can't NOT read them. fortunately, these only take about an hour to read, and they do feed my greedy survivalist bug, so there's somewhat of a purpose to it all.however. i have to call "bullshit". hatchet i can understand: small plane - pilot has heart attack - brian is stranded in the wilderness with nothing and must learn to live in the wild. awesome. this one: brian is in a different wilderness with a man who works for the government to re-enact the experiment for the benefit of psychology and its applications etc. etc. and then lightning strikes old government johnny and he goes into lightning coma (this is all on the back of the book, relax) but really?? lightning?? brian, there's a point where you have to stop and think that maybe you're the bad seed in these scenarios. maybe just being near you leads to disaster, and the wilderness is the best place for you, where you can't destroy anybody else. think about it. but at least there is this: "Out here, in nature, in the world, food is everything. All the other parts of what we are, what everything is, don't matter without food. I read somewhere that all of what man is, everything man has always been or will be, all the thoughts and dreams and sex and hate and every little and big thing is dependent on six inches of topsoil and rain when you need it to make a crop grow - food ...that's all i did - think about food. You watch other animals, birds, fish, even down to ants - they spend all their time working at food. Getting something to eat.That's what nature is, really - getting food. And when you're out here, having to live, you look for food. Food first. Food. Food.and me, stuffed on french toast and grapefruit, would have to agree.
What do You think about The River (1998)?
Brian Robeson continues to use his survival instincts by allowing a man from a survival school to tag along in a jouney into the Canadian wilderness. This time it was planned to be a learning experience, but turned into a ride down a raging river with an unconcious man. I rated this book five out of five stars, because I thought this book displayed a theme of perservearance, which is a desired attribute to have in case of emergency or survival situation. I would recommend this book to mainly males or people who are interested in wilderness, survival or adventure. Although this book is a short read, it truly deserves to be read by anyone who enjoys the outdoors.
—Corbin Billington
The River is insane. Like if you ever got thrown in the situation Brian went through in this book you would go insane. He was sent by the government to again go get lost in the woods and survive, but this Brian would have a buddy with him named Derek. Things going as Gary Pualsen does so though Derek gets in a coma. So that sets up the insane adventure. Thats why i give this story 5 stars because its totally crazy and unbelievable. All the river scenes (hints the name) get more miserable and intense everyday he is on the boat. The River will make you never want to get lost in the woods. Brian just accomplished a huge human feat and that's just cool on its own right.
—Isaac Sheets
I read the book The River by Gary Paulsen. This book is an exceptionally good book. Gary Paulsen does a good job of describing the settings and what takes place in the book. The characters are very well described and fit the role in the book very well.Brian who is the main character in this book fits the role perfectly. Brian is a high school kid who was stuck in the wild in a book before this. Brian has a very strong personality and is very strong as an individual. Brian has had a lot of things put on his shoulders since he got out of the wild. Another character named Derek who is a scientist asks Brian if he wants to relive his experience in the wild. Brian does not know what to say to Derek. Derek is a very strong willed guy that will not give up when it comes to something big like he is forced to do now.During the book Brian has to decide if he wants to go back into the wild and relive his experience. It is a tough decision for Brian because he had to go through so much by himself. Brian decides to go through with the idea and he grows so much as a character going with another person. This book ends really good and has a strong influence on a lot of kids ages 14 to 18. Males would really like this book because there is a lot of action. This book has a rating of about 4 because there is a lot of good describing details and great characters to fit the roles.
—Sam Schoenick
