Book Review: Hatchet

Thomas Ballard

Hi!

This week, for my cycle, I read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Gary Paulsen is a great author who likes to write in a natural setting. I decided to read this book because I remember almost finishing it many years ago but losing it at the last minute. Recently, I found the book on my shelf and remembered that I had not finished it when I was younger. Reading the book brought back many good memories of reading it for the first time. I was also able to use my new perspective to pick up on new things when reading the book that previously went over my head. Gary Paulsen can write believable and deep characters that are interacting with nature, making his books fun.

The main character of Hatchet is Brian, a teenaged boy from the city that is dealing with the divorce of his parents. He is on an airplane flying to his father for the summer when suddenly his pilot has a heart attack. He safely lands the plane next to a lake, starting the main conflict of the book, his survival in the Canadian forest with nothing but a hatchet. I think that many points in this book are about him reconnecting with nature. He is scared and alone but stubbornly survives in the wild. The plot is like a rollercoaster; one moment, he will find a new food and celebrate, then he is suddenly attacked by a wild animal.

After a plane passed over him early on, he was very depressed. He attempted to take his life with his hatchet but failed. After this moment, he had a new fire that made him determined to survive. Brian went from eating berries and turtle eggs and barely having a fire to eating fish and, eventually, birds. He learns about nature and especially the importance of food. He develops technology and new techniques until one day there is a tornado. This tornado destroys all things except for him and his hatchet, now, he must start over. However, he is not sad, instead, he uses his knowledge and recovers his situation. The tornado also allowed him to see the tail of the plane that was sunken in the lake. After many tries, he successfully retrieves a survival pack from the plane using a raft. The pack contained many treasures, but most importantly, the radio transmitter that notifies the world about his location, almost two months after the initial crash, allowing him to be saved.

Being in this natural environment allowed him to have time to reflect on his circumstances and his feelings. There are several points in the book where I believe he is learning key aspects of life, for example when he encountered a bear while eating berries. He was initially worried, but the bear did not harm him and was more concerned with the berries than the boy. I think that this made him worry less and gain confidence. He understood that the bear could have killed him and would have, but he had no control over that, so he should not worry about it. This point also taught him to be careful and mistakes in the wilderness could get him killed.

This book is a short and very fun read. Many of you have probably also read this book and I heavily encourage you to reread it if you are looking for an adventurous survival book. I would rate this book as 9.5/10 because I like how Gary Paulsen writes his characters and has them interact with the setting. He also laces in little things like symbolism that you will notice when you reread this book. I recommend this book to anyone, but especially to lovers of the outdoors and people who have read the book before. Hatchet is a worthwhile and wonderful book!

Thanks for Reading!

-          Thomas Ballard