Author: Gary Paulsen
Publisher: Pandemonium
Genre: Fiction, survival
Pages: 193
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis
On his way to visit his recently divorced father in the Canadian mountains, thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is the only survivor when the single-engine plane crashes. His body battered, his clothes in shreds, Brian must now stay alive in the boundless Canadian wilderness.
More than a survival story, Hatchet is a tale of tough decisions. When all is stripped down to the barest essentials, Brian discovers some stark and simple truths: Self-pity doesn’t work. Despair doesn’t work. And if Brian is to survive physically as well as mentally, he must discover courage.
Review
A book i have heard about my whole life but never actually picked up… Hatchet has been sitting on my TBR pile for over 8 years and finally, i decided to pick it up. Being as it is a middle-grade novel and not as mature as i am used to, i am going to review it that way and not compare it with other YA or Adult novels. I have to say i was surprised by how much i enjoyed it even though it definitely held some major flaws.
The writing style is one of those flaws; i did not like it. I’m sorry, but when you repeat lines over again and again for no apparent reason… it gets old, fast! Let me make an example for you. “My name is Larissa, Larissa Bullen. I’m a 21-year-old woman with blonde hair, Blonde hair that’s as golden as the sun, that’s the colour of my hair, blonde.” Can you see how aggravating that can become when reading? I really am not sure of the point of it but i definitely hated it. It made it hard to get through.
I did really enjoy our sole character Brian. He was a very adept 13-year-old boy going through some real struggles in his life not only caused from his plane crash. The development of his character is immense which would make sense considering he went from a spoiled city boy to living in the wild with nothing and no one to help. I like that we get to see his growth and how he learns from his mistakes and success to continue to live in the harsh environment. He is definitely a survivor and someone you can connect with.
The story itself is pretty straightforward, i mean there is not much you can do with a survival story when you stay in one place the whole time, but it’s a short book and it progressed well. I definitely enjoyed it but because of the writing style, i don’t think i would read another book by this author again. Repetition is a killer for the story!!
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