Hatchet (novel)

1987 young-adult novel by Gary Paulsen, the first in the series of Brian's Saga

Hatchet

First edition cover

Author| Gary Paulsen
Original title| Hatchet
Language| English
Series| Brian's Saga
Genre| Young adult novel
Publisher| Bradbury Press

Publication date

| September 1987
Publication place| United States
Media type| Hardcover and Paperback and Ebook
Pages| 195 p. (first edition, hardback)
186 p. (second edition, paperback)
ISBN| 0-02-770130-1 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC| 15366056

Dewey Decimal

| [Fic] 19
LC Class| PZ7.P2843 June 1987
Followed by| The River

Hatchet is a 1987 young-adult wilderness survival novel written by American writer Gary Paulsen.[1] It is the first novel of five in the Hatchet series. Other novels in the series include The River (1991), Brian's Winter (1996), Brian's Return (1999) and Brian's Hunt (2003).[2] It was first published in September 1987 by Bradbury Press,[3] and the recipient of the Newbery Honor Award in 1988.

## Plot

[edit]

Brian Robeson is the 13-year-old son of divorced parents. As he travels from Hampton on a Cessna 406 bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields of Northern Canada for the summer, the pilot suddenly suffers a massive heart attack and dies. Brian assumes control of the plane and makes an effort to land, but he runs out of fuel in the process, forcing him to attempt a ditching, and as a result, crash-lands into an L-shaped lake in the middle of a vast forest. Brian survives the crash with only a few minor injuries.

Throughout the summer, Brian learns how to survive on his own in the vast wilderness, with nothing but his windbreaker and a hatchet—a gift his mother gave him shortly before his plane departed.[4] He discovers how to prepare a fire with the hatchet, and eats whatever food he can find, from rabbits and ruffed grouse – which he nicknames “fool-birds” – to turtle eggs, fish and berries. Simultaneously, he deals with many of Nature's dangers, including mosquitoes, a porcupine, two huge bears – one of which is a mother with her cubs, a pack of three wolves, a skunk, a bad-tempered female moose, and even a tornado.

Over time, Brian develops his survival skills and becomes a fine woodsman. He crafts a bow, some arrows, and a fishing spear to aid in his hunting. He also fashions a shelter out of the underside of a rock overhang. During his time alone, Brian struggles with memories of home as well as the bittersweet memory of his mother, whom Brian had caught cheating on his father before their divorce.

When a sudden tornado hits the area, it draws the tail of the plane toward the shore of the lake. This brings Brian to believe that there may be a survival pack of some description on the plane. He makes a raft from a few broken-off treetops to get to the plane, and when he cuts his way through the fuselage into the tail section, he drops his hatchet in the lake and dives in to get it. Once inside the plane, Brian finds a survival pack that includes an array of tools, additional food, an emergency transmitter, and a .22 AR-7 rifle.

Back on shore, Brian activates the transmitter, but not knowing how to use it, he believes it is broken from water damage and tosses it aside. However, the distress beacon was still functional, and the signal is picked up by the pilot of a passing airplane, which he is rescued by. The epilogue explains that Brian had spent the remainder of the summer with his father but did not disclose his mother's affair, and how surviving on his own for a total of fifty-four days had a permanent effect on him for the better.[4]

## Sequels

[edit]

Paulsen continued the story of Brian Robeson with four more novels, beginning with The River in 1991, which sees Brian returning to the wilderness to show his survival strategies to the military.

Brian's Winter was published in 1996 and narrates how Brian would have survived if he was not rescued by that plane and if he had to survive the winter.

Brian's Return was published in 1999, in which Brian describes his life conflict after the plane crash.

Brian's Hunt was released in 2003. In the novel, Brian is out canoeing and then senses danger nearby when he finds a wounded dog.

The series concludes with Guts: The True Stories behind Hatchet and the Brian Books, which provides information about the behind-the-scene stories and how Brian Robeson got there.

## Film adaptation

[edit]

A film adaptation titled A Cry in the Wild was released in 1990.[5]

## Reception

[edit]

Hatchet was a recipient of the 1988 Newbery Honor.[6] In 2012, it was ranked number 23 on a list of the top 100 children's novels published by School Library Journal.[7]

## Bibliography

[edit]

Paulsen, Gary (1999). Hatchet. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781416936473.

## Notes

[edit]

* Children and Young Adult Literature portal

* Salvner, Gary M. (2001). "Lessons and Lives: Why Young Adult Literature Matters". The ALAN Review. 28 (3): 9. doi:10.21061/alan.v28i3.a.2.
* Sturm, Brian W. (Winter 2009). "The Structure of Power in Young Adult Problem Novels". Young Adult Library Services. 7 (2): 39–47.
* Unwin, Cynthia G.; Palmer, Brian (1999). "Survival as a Bridge to Resistant Readers: Applications of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet to an Integrated Curriculum". The ALAN Review. 26 (3): 9–12\. doi:10.21061/alan.v27i1.a.3.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Greasley, Philip A. (May 30, 2001). Dictionary of Midwestern Literature, Volume 1: The Authors. Indiana University Press. p. 403\. ISBN 0-253-10841-1.
2. ^ "Brian's Saga Series in Order - Gary Paulsen - FictionDB". www.fictiondb.com. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
3. ^ School Library Journal. Vol. 34\. R.R. Bowker Company, Xerox Company. 1987. p. 17. `{{cite magazine}}`: Missing or empty `|title=` (help)
4. ^ a b Paulsen, Gary (1999). Hatchet. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4169-3647-3.
5. ^ Wilson, Staci Layne (2007). Animal Movies Guide. Running Free Press. p. 282\. ISBN 9780967518534.
6. ^ "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present". Association for Library Service to Children. The American Library Association. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
7. ^ Bird, Elizabeth (July 7, 2012). "Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results". A Fuse #8 Production. Blog. School Library Journal (blog.schoollibraryjournal.com). Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* For the sequels, Brian's Saga in Gary Paulsen's website.
* For notes, [1]

Awards

Preceded by

On My Honor

|  Winner of the
William Allen White Children's Book Award
1990 | Succeeded by

Beauty

* v
* t
* e

Works by Gary Paulsen

Bibliography

Brian's saga|

* Hatchet
* The River
* Brian's Winter
* Brian's Return
* Brian's Hunt

Murphy series|

* Murphy
* Murphy's Gold
* Murphy's Herd
* Murphy's War
* Murphy's Stand
* Murphy's Ambush
* Murphy's Trail

Culpepper Adventures|

* The Case of the Dirty Bird
* Dunc's Doll
* Culpepper's Cannon
* Dunc Gets Tweaked
* Dunc's Halloween
* Dunc Breaks the Record

The Tucket Adventures|

* Mr. Tucket
* Call Me Francis Tucket
* Tucket's Ride
* Tucket's Gold
* Tucket's Home

World of Adventure|

* The Legend of Red Horse Cavern
* Rodomonte's Revenge
* Escape from Fire Mountain
* The Rock Jockeys
* Hook 'Em Snotty!
* Danger on Midnight River
* The Gorgon Slayer
* Captive!
* Project - A Perfect World
* The Treasure of El Patron
* Skydive!
* The Seventh Crystal
* The Creature of Black Water Lake
* Time Benders
* Grizzly
* Thunder Valley
* Curse of the Ruins
* Flight of the Hawk

Other novels|

* Dogsong
* The Winter Room
* Canyons
* The Cookcamp
* Harris and Me
* Nightjohn
* The Car
* The Tent
* Sarny
* The Transall Saga
* Alida's Song
* Soldier's Heart
* The White Fox Chronicles
* The Glass Cafe
* Woods Runner
* The Rifle

Non-fiction|

* Woodsong
* Winterdance
* My Life in Dog Years
* Guts
* How Angel Peterson Got His Name
* Gone to the Woods

Film adaptations|

* A Cry in the Wild
* Nightjohn
* Snow Dogs

*[OCLC]: Online Computer Library Center number
*[LC Class]: Library of Congress Classification
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