Hatchet by Gary Paulsen continued

Now that I have finished Hatchet I think the first half of the book is more about Brian's initial challenges and coming to terms with the situation. Whereas the second half of the book is more about Brian's actual fight for survival.

Brian finds strengths within himself he had no idea about. He makes weapons and tools like a spear for fishing, as well as a shelter to keep him safe. Brian was attacked by a moose as well as faced a tornado. Although he was injured and exhausted he continued on. I think Brian showed a lot of determination and persistence throughout all of his ordeals. Also, while undoubtedly toughened up by his ordeals Brian still shows sadness, grief and terror about the plane crash. When he first sees the plane again he feels a rush of sadness come over him because of the pilot and when he goes over to the plane when trying to find the survival pack he worries about seeing the dead pilot underwater.  I think this showed he is still just a thirteen-year-old boy dealing with problems and challenges he shouldn't have to be.

The only thing I didn't like about this book, specifically the second half, was the ending. I thought Brian got extremely lucky in the way he was able to get rescued. The tornado revealed the tail of the plane. Then Brian remembers the survival pack that was in the plane, which includes an emergency transmitter. After Brian is able to get it out from the submerged plane it then miraculously still works and he is rescued by a fur buyer.

I did really like the epilogue to this book. I think it gave some closure to Brian's story and allowed the reader to see how his experiences in the wilderness affected him in the long run. He remained thin and vigilant at all times and he never took food for granted again. I think his time having to fight for survival effected him a lot and while it initially gave him hope for his family to reconnect, everything eventually went back to the way it was before.