''Hatchet'' is a 1986
Newbery
Newbery is a surname.
People
*Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver
*David Newbery (born 1943), British economist
*Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot
*Francis Newbery (disambiguation), sev ...
Honor-winning
young-adult wilderness
survival
Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
novel written by American writer
Gary Paulsen
Gary James Paulsen (May 17, 1939 – October 13, 2021) was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best known for coming of age, coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote mor ...
. 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).
Plot
Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old son of divorced parents. As he travels from
Hampton, New York
Hampton is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 938 at the 2010 census, an increase of 7.2% since the 2000 census. The town of Hampton is locat ...
on a single-engine
Cessna
Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...
bush plane to visit his father in the
oil field
A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations.
Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...
s in
Northern Canada
Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, territor ...
for the summer, the pilot suffers a massive
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
and dies. Brian tries to land the plane but ends up crash-landing into a lake in the forest. He must learn to survive on his own with nothing but his
windbreaker
A windbreaker, or a windcheater, is a thin fabric jacket designed to resist wind chill and light rain, making it a lighter version of the jacket. It is usually of lightweight construction and characteristically made of a synthetic material. ...
and a
hatchet
A hatchet (from the Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be use ...
—a gift his mother gave him shortly before his plane departed.
Throughout the summer, Brian learns how to survive in the vast wilderness with only his hatchet and a windbreaker. He discovers how to make fire with the hatchet and eats whatever food he can find, such as rabbits, birds, turtle eggs, fish, berries, and fruit. He deals with various threats of nature, including mosquitoes, a
porcupine
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...
, bear, wolf,
skunk
Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...
,
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
, and even a tornado. Over time, Brian develops his survival skills and becomes a fine woodsman. He crafts a bow, 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 and 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 triggers his thoughts that there may be a survival pack of some sort on the plane. Brian makes a raft from a few broken-off treetops to get to the plane. When Brian is cutting his way into the tail of the plane, he drops his hatchet in the lake and dives in to get it. Once inside the plane, Brian finds a survival pack that includes additional food, an
emergency transmitter, and a
.22 .22 caliber, or 5.6 mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm).
Cartridges in this caliber include the very widely used .22 Long Rifle and .223 Remington / 5.56×45mm NATO.
.22 inch is also a popular ...
AR-7 rifle. Back on shore, Brian activates the transmitter, but not knowing how to use it, he thinks it is broken and throws it aside. However, his distress call is heard by a passing airplane, and he is rescued. Brian spends the remainder of the summer with his father but does not disclose his mother's affair.
Sequel novels
Paulsen continued the story of Brian Robeson with four more novels, beginning with ''
The River'' in 1991.
Film adaptation
A film adaptation titled ''
A Cry in the Wild
''A Cry in the Wild'' is a 1990 American coming-of-age survival drama film based on the book ''Hatchet'', written by Gary Paulsen. The film stars Jared Rushton as Brian, Pamela Sue Martin as Brian's mom, Stephen Meadows as Brian's dad, and Ned Bea ...
'' was released in 1990.
Reception
''Hatchet'' was a recipient of the 1988 Newbery Honor. In 2012 it was ranked number 23 on a list of the top 100 children's novels published by ''
School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...
''.
Bibliography
Notes
*
*
*
References
External links
* For the sequels
Brian's Saga in Gary Paulsen's website
* For notes
{{Gary Paulsen, state=collapsed
1986 American novels
Novels by Gary Paulsen
Newbery Honor-winning works
American young adult novels
American novels adapted into films
Novels about survival skills
Novels set in Canada
1986 children's books
American adventure novels