book report-hatchet

Book Report / Novel Summary

Author Last, First Name. Title of the book. Place of Publication. Company: Date.

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. New York, NY. Simon Pulse Paperbacks: October 1996.

Reason, Type and Setting: I really like Gary Paulsen and I really like survival books. Ive always heard that this was a good book so I finally read it. The book is a survival book. It takes place in the 90's

Plot: Basically there is a boy named Brian. He is in a small airplane heading to canada to see his father. During the flight the pilot has a heart attack. Brian is left of the airplane in the middle of nowhere

he lets the plane fly until it runs out of fuel. Then he crashes it in to a lake. He is injured in the crash and swims to shore where he instantly falls asleep. He is left in the wilderness of canada during summer for about three months. He discovers fire and learns how to fish. He creates a bow and arrow. This was all able to be done with a hatchet that he happened to have with him when he inegalitarian.

Character: Brian. He is a 14 year old boy. I really don't know what he looks like. I know by the end of the story he is very slim but in good shape. He is a very determined person. He is dedicated to survival. Well he is simply the main and only character in the story. I chose him because he is the only character. He is very interesting because he is in such a crazy situation that would be so hard to survive in. He is very changed by the end. He is very independent and extremely good at survival. He also doesn't take things for granted anymore.

Evaluation:

I definitely liked the novel. It was very interesting and entertaining. It also taught me a lot about survival. Its point about life is that the life we live is a very easy one and that if we didn't live in the society that we lived in it could potentially be extremely hard to live. I would definitely recommend this book. It is really good and I know that it appeals to a wide variety of people.

This book is real life. It reminds me that some people in the world today actually have to live like this. Live in caves. Hunt for food. Make tools themselves. Most people in this situation aren't even lucky enough to have a hatchet. It is important to read. You appreciate the life that you live more after reading this book.

I think that I would have done everything the same. It would have been very hard, but I would have done the work necessary to survive. I have actually always thought that it would be really cool to be in a situation like this. Another conclusion could have been that he didn't get rescued and he would have to continue living there and survive during winter and the go find help. But I like the way the book ended.

Author, Context and Trivia:

Gary Paulsen writes a lot of survival books. I have read one about a soldier in the revolutionary war and another about a boy lost from his family on the Oregon trail. Both of these stories were really good. This book is similar but very different. Yet they were all very good. I would definitely read this author again.