book report

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

Paulsen, Gary. Brians Winter. New York, NY. Simon Pulse Paperbacks: October 1999.

Reason, Type and Setting: I really like Gary Paulsen and I really like survival books. I really liked reading Hatchet, and this was the next book in the series so I decided to 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. In the first book he ends up being rescued at the end. But this book is about what would have happened if he had not been rescued and what it would have been like for him to survive during the winter.

In the winter he faces harsh weather. It is extremely cold and there is snow everywhere. There are many bad things because of this, but some good. First of all he needs to make warmer clothes wich he does not have. Also he needs snow shoes to walk in the snow. But the nice thing about the winter is that it is very easy to track animals because of the prints that they leave in the snow.

Character: Brian. He is a 15 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. I liked that tjis one explains surviving in the winter. In the first book I learned how to survive in the summer, so how to avoid mosquitos and how to fish. Then in this book I learned how to make snow shoes and how to make clothing from animal fur. The books 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 clothing from animal fur. 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. But I definitely wouldnt enjoy the freezing cold winter. I would not enjoy that. It would just be way to cold, and way to hard. There would be too much effort put in to just keeping warm. Another ending could have been that he never discovered the hunting family and that he could live in the wilderness for the rest of his life.

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.