Book Report on "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen.

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Book Report on Hatchet

Brian Robeson is a thirteen-year-old from New York City. He is heading on a plain going

from Hampton, New York to the Canadian north woods to visit . His parents just had

recent divorce that affects him heavily, as does "The Secret" that is having an affair. It

gives him a brief flying lesson in which Brian has control of the plane for a few minutes.

The pilot has pain in his shoulder, arm, and stomach. Brian does not think it is very

serious. The heart attack stops and the pilot is dead; Brian is forced to take over the

controls. The plane crashes into a lake in the Canadian woods, where Brian is stranded.

Brian nothing to eat and is injured from the crash, but believes he will soon be rescued. He

finds some strange food to eat, which makes him sick. He finds a raspberry , where he

spots a bear.

Brian builds a shelter and in the middle of the night he hears a noise. A skunk

has entered his shelter and Brian throws the hatchet in its direction. It shoots it into Brian's

leg, causing him severe pain. Brian attempts to build a fire with no matches and eventually

succeeds when he learns how to strike his hatchet against a stone to ignite sparks. He finds

turtle eggs and eats them. One day a plane flies overhead but does not see him and

continues, leaving Brian devastated and hopeless. He attempts to commit suicide. He

decides he wants to live.

Brian catches a fish. That night a skunk sprays him. It temporarily blinds him and covers

him with a horrible stench. Brian perfects his tools and catches a foolbird, his first meat.

While he is cleaning the bird in the water, a moose attacks Brian, injuring his ribs and his

shoulder. A tornado then destroys his shelter.

The day after the tornado, Brian discovers that the storm has riled up the water in the lake,

reminding Brian of the dead pilot and telling him to say a few words for him. Lying in bed

one night, it occurs to Brian that he could find survival pack in the body of the plane, and

he determines to build a raft to do so. After many incidents, Brian retrieves the survival

pack from the plane. At one point he drops the hatchet to the lake's bottom, but retrieves

it with a long dive. On his way back up to the surface, Brian sees the dead pilot's head

underwater, partially eaten by fish. Brian gets sick in the water but manages to make it

back to his shelter to get some sleep. He survives.