Reviews

Brian's Hunt by Gary Paulsen

roxnn2000's review against another edition

4.0

While shorter than I would have liked, I enjoyed this book. You can see how over the course of time from his beginnings in Hatchet to now that Brian has evolved and changed. It was nice to return to Brian and see where he was at now that he’s older.

dnandrews797's review against another edition

2.0

This book wasn’t as good as Brian’s return. In particular, I didn’t enjoy the slaughter and pursuit of the bear and the villianisation of bears in general. The dog subplot though was good.

fractaltexan's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This was a promising book. Like the previous book, this one spends a majority of its 106 pages getting to the defining event that sparks Brian's Hunt. And the hunt itself is perhaps 12-13 pages. The ending, like the last book, was somewhat abrupt and didn't have any real proper resolution outside of a successful hunt. I expected a little more resolution, a little more of a proper ending to Brian's story. But it's as good an ending as we'll get.

protoman21's review against another edition

4.0

Another enjoyable entry into Brian's saga. The story comes with a new perspective as Brian is more independent than ever and has the confidence of a seasoned hunter and woodsman. This story also comes with the greatest tragedy as Brian comes upon a horrifying scene that is impossible to process. This story lacked some of the suspense of previous entries since Brian is so proficient at surviving now, but that doesn't mean that the book wasn't still enjoyable.

stacyrenee's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

3.5

Juvenile / Middle Grade
Realistic Fiction
Nature / Adventure / Survival

Last/fifth book in the Hatchet series

Brian hunts a bear in the last book in the Hatchet series.

howatdk's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

bhall237's review

4.0

“And a dead bear.
Not a villain, not an evil thing. Just a dead bear.
Like any other dead animal that he might have
hunted. Killing the bear did not bring back his
friends, did not ease the pain for Susan and her
brother and sister.”

And with this book finished, I have read the entirety of Brian’s Saga from Gary Paulsen and Overall I think this was an incredibly realized end brought to life series that I very much enjoyed. Besides The River, Brian’s Hunt is without a doubt my second favorite in the series. With these two have in common that I love so much is that he has to care for another living creature besides himself that is in capable of doing so for themselves. In this book, it’s a dog, and the relationship and bond that forms between her and Brian has some thing that’s a little more additive than the one between Brian and Derek in The River. With that being said, this is also the darkest book in the series by far. A while to book my end on a slightly high note, the couple of chapters preceding that are depressing really realistic and sorrowful. I think it was good to get very dark, but it happened very fast and very realistically.

My overall ranking for the series is listed as such:
1: The River
2: Brian’s Hunt
3: Hatchet
4: Brian’s Winter
5: Brian’s Return

wyrnn's review against another edition

3.0

This book is amazing! I liked that Brian had a friend and I liked that we had a lot more time in the Bush then we got in Brain's Return. This is definitely one of my favorite Gary Paulson books.

coinchantal's review against another edition

4.0

If you liked the books before, you will like this book. Although I sometimes got tired of the mentioning of food all the time in the book. Also the end is different and dramafull, more then the other books in de serie. Good ending to a serie!

karliclover's review against another edition

4.0

Like all the other books in this series, I read this one years ago. But I didn't remember anything about it. Not because it's not memorable, but because I was so young and it wasn't as important to me as the first three (I didn't remember the fourth book either).

That said, this was really good. Way better that Brian's Return, which didn't really have much of a plot. This book has a pretty good story and it was written really well, I think. The "villain" is different and like that.

I don't know what else to say other than that it was really good.