Hatchet

By Gary Paulsen

 

Have you ever woken in the dead of night to hear a rustling in the bushes?  This happens to the main character in Gary Paulsen’s 1988 Newbery Honour Award wining book, Hatchet.  It is a truly incredible story about a thirteen-year-old boy who is forced to survive with a hatchet, a ripped up wind-breaker, and his self doubts.  This book is an intense story with some exciting moments  that will make you realize the power of nature.  In one part, the main character is eating raspberries hungrily when a huge black bear lumbers out of the forest.  The bear looks him up and down and the boy freezes in terror.  The bear just walks on.  This is one of the many suspenseful of this book that keep the reader engaged. 

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​Gary Paulsen’s writing is impactful because he paints vivid pictures without rambling on.  When the plane crashes, you feel what the main character feels,  and you can clearly imagine seeing what he sees.  In some parts Paulsen’s writing style can become annoying as he tries to hard to get that so desired impact, often repeating the same word two to ten times in a paragraph.  This part irrigated me, but other people may appreciate his literary devices.  Hatchet is a great book to pass time on a long drive or a flight.