Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

If you were stranded in the wild, what is the one thing you would you want to have with you? Why? (short discussion)

Imagine if all you had was a hatchet. In Gary Paulsen's book, Hatchet, Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old boy trying to adjust to his parents’ divorce. While flying to visit his dad, things go horribly wrong and Brian is left to fly the plane.

(excerpt p. 24-25) He repeated the radio call seventeen times at the ten-minute intervals, working on what he would do between transmissions…He did what he could, tightened his seatbelt, positioned himself, rehearsed mentally again and again what his procedure should be…Over and over his mind ran the picture of how it would go. The plane running out of gas, flying the plane onto the water, the crash—from pictures he’d seen on television. He tried to visualize it. He tried to be ready.

But between the seventeenth and eighteenth radio transmissions, without a warning, the engine coughed, roared violently for a second and died. There was sudden silence, cut only by the sound of the windmilling propeller and the wind past the cockpit.

Brian pushed the nose of the plane down and threw up.

This is a story of Brian’s survival. The hatchet he is wearing on his belt plays a key role as does Brian’s wits and resourcefulness. And, throughout the book, his Secret haunts him. This is a fast-paced book, with lots of action that leaves you wanting more. Check out Hatchet, and if you like it, there is a series of books about Brian and his adventures.
(from Nancy Keane's booktalking course)