Hatchet (novel)

Hatchet is a 1987 Newbery Honor-winning young-adult wilderness survival novel written by American writer Gary Paulsen. 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). It was first published in September 1987 by Bradbury Press.

Plot
Brian Robeson is the 13-year-old son of divorced parents. As he travels from Hampton on a Cessna bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields of Northern Canada for the summer, the pilot suddenly suffers a massive heart attack and dies. Brian tries to land the plane, but he runs out of fuel and sees nowhere to go, so ends up crash-landing into an L-shaped lake in the middle of a vast forest. Brian survives the crash with only a few minor injuries.

Throughout the summer, Brian learns how to survive on his own in the vast wilderness, with nothing but his windbreaker and a hatchet—a gift his mother gave him shortly before his plane departed. He discovers how to make fire with the hatchet, and eats whatever food he can find, from rabbits and ruffed grouse – which he nicknames “fool-birds” – to turtle eggs, fish and berries. Simultaneously, he deals with many of Nature's dangers, including mosquitoes, a porcupine, two huge bears – one of which is a mother with her cubs, a pack of three wolves, a skunk, a bad-tempered female moose, and even a tornado.

Over time, Brian develops his survival skills and becomes a fine woodsman. He crafts a bow, some 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 as well as 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 Brian's thoughts that there may be a survival pack of some sort on the plane. He makes a raft from a few broken-off treetops to get to the plane. When he cuts his way into the tail, he drops his hatchet in the lake and dives in to get it. Once inside the plane, Brian finds a survival pack that includes an array of tools, additional food, an emergency transmitter, and a .22 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, the distress beacon is picked up by the pilot of a passing airplane, and he is rescued. The epilogue explains that Brian had spent the remainder of the summer with his father but did not disclose his mother's affair, and how surviving on his own for a total of 54 days had a permanent effect on him for the better.

Sequel novels
Paulsen continued the story of Brian Robeson with four more novels, beginning with The River in 1991. It is about Brian going back to the wilderness to show his survival strategies to the military. Other books by Gary Paulsen with summaries: Brian's Winter (1996) which shows how Brian would have survived if he was not rescued by that plane and if he had to survive the winter, Brian's Return (1999) where he described his life conflict after the plane crash, Brian's Hunt (2003) where he is out canoeing and then senses danger nearby when he finds a wounded dog, before finishing the series Brian's Saga with Guts: The True Stories behind Hatchet and the Brian Books, which provides information about the behind-the-scene stories and how Brian Robeson got there.

Film adaptation
A film adaptation titled A Cry in the Wild 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.