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==Plot summary==
==Plot summary==


Brian Robeson is stranded and alone in the [[Canada|Canadian]] [[wilderness]] after the pilot of the single-engine [[Cessna]] plane in which he is traveling suffers a fatal [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. Brian is forced to try to land the plane, but ends up crash-landing the plane into the trees and sliding down into the water. He just manages to escape as the plane sinks in a remote [[lake]].
Brian Robeson is stranded and alone in the gjxfjhdjh[[Canada|Canadian]] [[wilderness]] after the pilot of the single-engine [[Cessna]] plane in which he is traveling suffers a fatal [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]]. Brian is forced to try to land the plane, but ends up crash-landing the plane into the trees and sliding down into the water. He just manages to escape as the plane sinks in a remote [[lake]].


Brian figures out how to make [[fire]]. He forces himself to eat whatever food he can find, such as [[turtle]] eggs, fish, berries, fruit, some rabbits, and even a couple of birds. He deals with a [[porcupine]], [[bear]], [[skunk]], [[moose]], and a [[tornado]]. He eventually becomes quite a craftsman, crafting a [[Bow (weapon)|bow]], [[arrow (weapon)|arrows]], and a [[spear]]. He also fashions a shelter out of the underside of a rock overhang. During the story, he struggles with memories of home, and the bittersweet memory of his mother, who Brian has discovered was cheating on his father.
Brian figures out how to make [[fire]]. He forces himself to eat whatever food he can find, such as [[turtle]] eggs, fish, berries, fruit, some rabbits, and even a couple of birds. He deals with a [[porcupine]], [[bear]], [[skunk]], [[moose]], and a [[tornado]]. He eventually becomes quite a craftsman, crafting a [[Bow (weapon)|bow]], [[arrow (weapon)|arrows]], and a [[spear]]. He also fashions a shelter out of the underside of a rock overhang. During the story, he struggles with memories of home, and the bittersweet memory of his mother, who Brian has discovered was cheating on his father.

Revision as of 18:35, 17 September 2009

Hatchet
First edition cover
First edition cover
AuthorGary Paulsen
LanguageEnglish
SeriesBrian's Saga
SubjectLanguage Arts
GenreYoung adult novel
PublisherBradbury Press
Publication date
30 September, 1987
Publication placeUnited States
Media typeHardcover and Paperback
Pages195 p. (first edition, hardback)
ISBNISBN 0-02-770130-1 (first edition, hardback) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Followed byThe River
Brian's Winter
Brian's Return
Brian's Hunt 

Hatchet is a 1987 wilderness survival novel written by Gary Paulsen.

Plot summary

Brian Robeson is stranded and alone in the gjxfjhdjhCanadian wilderness after the pilot of the single-engine Cessna plane in which he is traveling suffers a fatal heart attack. Brian is forced to try to land the plane, but ends up crash-landing the plane into the trees and sliding down into the water. He just manages to escape as the plane sinks in a remote lake.

Brian figures out how to make fire. He forces himself to eat whatever food he can find, such as turtle eggs, fish, berries, fruit, some rabbits, and even a couple of birds. He deals with a porcupine, bear, skunk, moose, and a tornado. He eventually becomes quite a craftsman, crafting a bow, arrows, and a spear. He also fashions a shelter out of the underside of a rock overhang. During the story, he struggles with memories of home, and the bittersweet memory of his mother, who Brian has discovered was cheating on his father.

When a tornado hits the woods and lake, it draws the plane wreckage toward the shore of the lake. Brian makes a raft from a few broken off tree tops to get to the plane. When Brian is working his way into the plane, he drops his hatchet in the water. He realizes how critical the hatchet is for his survival. After diving twice, he retrieves the hatchet and narrowly avoids drowning. Inside the plane, he finds a survival pack, which has an emergency transmitter, many packs of food, a first aid kit, and an AR-7 (.22 survival rifle). Brian activates the transmitter, but not knowing how to work it, he thinks it is broken. As he is eating the food packs, a fur trader arrives in a water plane some time after because he caught the transmiter's signal. Finally, after reaching his father, he is no closer to being able to tell him about the mother's affair than at the novel's beginning.

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Film adaptations

Hatchet was made into a TV movie in 1990 entitled A Cry in the Wild.