Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

"Hatchet" is written by Gary Paulsen. It takes place in the Canadian wilderness, where Brian Robeson's, who is 13 yrs. Old, plane crashes. Brian shows a lot of determination and strength, to be able to survive in the wilderness, with no one else.

The story starts out with Brian in the city, who lives with his mother, who is divorced. Brian decided to go visit his Dad in Alaska for the summer. His mother gives him a gift before he leaves. It is a beautiful hatchet that fits on his belt so Brian decides to put it there. Brian meets the pilot that will bring him to Alaska and he is a very nice man. Brian and the pilot get ready to leave and then Brian remembers that he saw a man kissing his mom. He decides to not let it bother him. Brian leaves and after an hour or so, the pilot was yelling and screaming that his chest hurts. Brian didn't know what to do and the pilot had a heart attack and died. Now Brian had to fly the plane on his own. Brian instantly picked up the CB radio and tried calling for help while the plane was gliding in the air. He made contact with a man and Brian told him that the pilot had a heart attack and died and that he did not know how to fly a plane. Brian did not get an answer. He grabs onto the controls and tries to land the plane but there's no flat area so he decides to crash into a lake. He hustles out of the plane with his hatchet at his side and swims to the shore.

Brian realizes that he will need to use the natural resources that he could and his brain. Brian uses his hatchet to make a shelter and weapons. He chops down branches and sets them up for his shelter. "With the branches he interlaced and wove a wall of the opening of the front of the rocks. Then he goes to get grass to put on top of the branches. He uses the shelter to protect him from the rain and some animals. After he builds the shelter, Brian uses his hatchet to make spears and arrows. He takes branches and sharpens the tip of them to make arrows and spears. "He had worked on the fish spear until it had become more then just a tool. He could shoot the arrows at birds and throw the spears at fish.

"I know about fire; I know I need fire." Brian thought that fire would play a great role to his survival in the wild on the second night that he's on the island. Brian needs a fire