Hatchet

Hatchet

Hardcover - USA - 1st edition

Author Gary Paulsen Published 1986-09-?? Type Fiction Genre Drama Themes Adventure, Coming of age, Divorce, Drama, Survival Age Group Teen

Hatchet is a teen wilderness survival novel written by Gary Paulsen and published in September 1986. It is the first book in the Hatchet series.

In the book, a 13-year-old boy named Brian is trying to come to terms with his parents' divorce when the plane he is in crashes into a lake far north in the Canadian wilderness. He is the only survivor and the only thing he manages to keep is the hatchet his mother bought him. He must use his wits to try and survive long enough to be rescued, but there are many dangers in the forest.

Personal

Own?	No.
Read?	Audiobook read by Peter Coyote.
Finished	2023-05-25.

When I was a teen, I heard that this book was quite popular, but I didn't have access to it. In my 20s, I picked it up at a book store and read the first pages, but it didn't strike me. In my 40s, finding it much more convenient to read in audiobook format, I decided to give it another try. I'm glad I did, because the book is quite good.

Review

Overall:

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• Throughout the book, the things that Brian learns about survival are actually similar to the advice I've seen from survival experts. This shows Paulsen did some research into wilderness survival for his book.
• The scenes where the pilot has a heart attack and later when the plane crashes are both very intense.
• The author doesn't shy away from more adult topics like fear of slowly dying of starvation, giving up all hope, and even suicide.
• I like how it turns out that the destructive power of the tornado is what ultimately allows Brian to get rescued.
• All through the book, the author does a good job of making you feel as though you're stranded in the wilderness, so, it was easy to feel rescued myself when the moment finally came, and it brought tears to my eyes.

Bad

• Something I've learned from watching survival contests is, even people who are already quite skilled in living in the wilderness have a very hard time making it when dumped in the middle of nowhere with few tools. So, a 13-year-old city boy with nothing but a hatchet and no survival skills would have to be extremely lucky to survive. Although the author does describe many setbacks and mistakes, the fact that Brian's able to create so much so successfully is not very believable.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

Covers

• 

  Hardcover - USA - 1st edition. Brian looks a lot older than 13 here.

• 

  Paperback - USA - reprint.

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	The only woman is Brian's mother, but she plays a minor role.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are no named women.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	Although race isn't mentioned, it can be assumed every character is white.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Quotes

• He did not know how long it took, but later he looked back on this time of crying in the corner of the dark cave and thought of it as when he learned the most important rule of survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn't work. It wasn't just that it was wrong to do, or that it was considered incorrect. It was more than that--it didn't work.
• Patience, he thought. So much of this was patience - waiting, and thinking and doing things right. So much of all this, so much of all living was patience and thinking.
• And the last thought he had that morning as he closed his eyes was: I hope the tornado hit the moose.
• The rifle changed him, the minute he picked it up, and he wasn't sure he liked the change much.

Links