Hatchet
(Gary Paulsen)

Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old boy who is flying to Canada from New York to visit his father. Brian is overcome by thoughts of “the secret” he knew about his mother and is angry with her for pushing his father away and keeping such a secret to herself. While he is preoccupied with thoughts about “the secret” the pilot of his single-engine, single-passenger plane has a heart attack and dies right there in front of Brian. Brian must then figure out a way to fly the plane himself and safely land. Luckily, Brian manages to land the plane in a lake and though he is injured he survives. It takes a few days before Brian realizes that he may not be rescued right away, and he must find a way to survive there in the woods alone, with no food or shelter.

Over time, Brian constructs a shelter which will protect him from other animals, as well as the elements, he teaches himself to light a fire without the aid of matches or a lighter, and he makes tools which will help him to catch his own food. Brian becomes more thoughtful and observant, his body becomes leaner and more muscular, and he develops enhanced senses from being keenly aware of his environment. Brian thinks like the animals in nature, which do whatever it takes to survive; he knows that in order to survive he must be one of them. When Brian is finally rescued he is relieved but yet always looks back fondly on the time he spent becoming one with nature.