A story of a young teen learning to survive his parent's divorce quickly turns into a story of true wilderness survival for the boy and his one tool, a gift from his mother, a Hatchet. Gary Paulsen's Newbery Honor Book bumps along clumsily, in and out of a what passes as a teen voice back and forth between first and third person. What will capture the reader are the passages of problem solving and near disaster-avoiding adventure. Run-ins with wild life, trial and error lessons in the search for basic necessities, and face-to-face interaction with the force of nature are enough to make this a satisfying quick-read. Oh yeah, and a plane crashes. Although Paulsen's main character learns completely on his own, he is not quite as engaging as Jean Craighead George's Sam Gribley.
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I found it interesting how many high school reluctant readers I met who the last book they read and liked was Hatchet, but your review makes it seem like it hasn't held up. Has it?
ReplyDeleteI do think this title would hold the interest of a high school reluctant reader. I personally did not care for the writing style, but did appreciate the survival aspects to the story.
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