Paperback, 195 pages
English language
Published Oct. 4, 1999 by Scholastic Inc., by arrangement with Viking Penguin, a div. of Penguin Books USA, Inc..
Brian is on his way to Canada to visit his estranged father when the pilot of his small prop. plane suffers a heart attack. Brian is forced to crash-land the plane in a lake--and finds himself stranded in the remote Canadian wilderness with only his clothing and the hatchet his mother gave him as a gift prior to his departure.
The only survivor of a plane crash, Brian spends 54 days in the wilderness, learning to cope with only a hatchet given him by his mother and also learning to survive his parents' divorce.
I re-read this on a whim when my brother mentioned he was teaching it to his class; I'd read this when I was a child. It's still a fun little story, worth the 30 or 40 minutes it took to read.
is this the first time you'll be reading a narrative about survival and man against the combined forces of both fate and nature? you'll enjoy it. if not then it'll be okay.
not going to lie, i lowkey didn't want brian to get rescued at the end because paulsen did manage to ignite that feeling of liberation that comes with being left to your own devices with no societal pressure or responsibility other than to keep yourself alive and sane. sounds terrible? yes. liberation always did come with a price.
Good young adult outdoor adventure, offers valuable perspectives.
Minecraft: The Book.
I regard this as one of my favorite books, because it was the book that got me into reading. It could be longer, but I guess it was made for younger people,so its shorter.
