Book Review of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen - Nate

 



    So for my last blog post, I reread Hatchet. Quite a few years ago I read this book and really enjoyed it, so finding it on my bookshelf I thought to give it another shot. Hatchet follows a young 13 years old, Brain Robeson when suddenly his small little plane going from New York to Canada to visit his father crashes in the middle of the Canadian Forest. The rest of the plot revolves around Brain and his ways of surviving by creating self-sufficient food gathering methods, and just by not being eaten alive by bears or the other ways you could end up dying, either by other animals, plants, or even the weather. Then, eventually how he could be rescued.  
    Reading this novel from the perspective of someone in Scouts, its very accurate and a real way someone could survive stranded in the woods. Reading more on the author, I found that Gary Paulsen himself was very into the wilderness and lived similarly to Brain in Hatchet. Cooking his own meals, fixing shelter, and clothes. Besides this, the book isn't much more. For a book targeted towards a younger audience it someone figures out how to tie in divorce and marital affairs. Personally, for me, I find no issue with this topic. But with this novel being read and taught to younger kids such as 4th or 5th grade this can be a bit too much. Besides this, the plot brings nothing much, the only part keeping me reading was just seeing how he survives and tying that into my knowledge from Scouts. Overall, this book does bring much to the table, it's not that very long, and the plot isn't very engaging. So save your time and look elsewhere.


-Nate

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