Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Brian is on his way to Canada to visit his estranged father when the pilot of his small prop plane suffers a heart attack. Brian is forced to crash-land the plane in a lake-and finds himself stranded in the remote Canadian wilderness with only his clothing and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present before his departure.

 Brian had been distraught over his parents' impending divorce and the secret he carries about his mother, but now he is truly desolate and alone. Exhausted, terrified, and hungry, Brian struggles to find food and make a shelter for himself. He has no special knowledge of the woods, and he must find a new kind of awareness and patience as he meets each day's challenges.

 Is the water safe to drink? Are the berries he finds poisonous? Slowly, Brian learns to turn adversity to his advantage-an invading porcupine unexpectedly shows him how to make fire, a devastating tornado shows him how to retrieve supplies from the submerged airplane. 

Most of all, Brian leaves behind the self-pity he has felt about his predicament as he summons the courage to stay alive. A story of survival and of transformation, this riveting book has sparked many a reader's interest in venturing into the wild.

Paperback, 186 pages

Published January 1, 1987

 by Scholastic

4/5 stars

I picked up Hatchet after reading Gary Paulsen’s Gone in the Woods, his autobiographical look at the childhood experiences that shaped him. Having that background made Brian’s story even more compelling, so many of the themes in Hatchet echo moments from Paulsen’s own life, especially his resilience and deep connection to the natural world.

In Hatchet, I watched as Brian was stranded alone in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash, armed with nothing but a hatchet and his own determination. Paulsen’s writing is spare but vivid, capturing the rawness of survival - the hunger, the hope and the sheer grit it takes to keep going. The wilderness feels alive on the page, and Brian’s growth is both believable and satisfying.

While some moments move quickly, the emotional weight and survival tension make this a standout adventure story. Reading it after Gone in the Woods gave it an extra layer of meaning, and I appreciated the story all the more.

This book was part of my 2025 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge (#48)