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kayleajayne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mrsjburgin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Grief, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Excrement
is_it_chris's review against another edition
4.0
he wined a ton also i dont care about the dates anymore
koffelseyeball's review against another edition
3.0
Yea it's good. Ovbisouly not my ideal genre but I remembered thus book from 5th grade and nothing else on my bookshelf sounded good. It took my longer than I thought to finish reading I thought it would be super quick which was a reason I picked it up but I enjoyed my time. Sometimes it felt long but it was also just cool to read about the woods tbh.
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
4.0
I read Hatchet for the first time when I was in the sixth grade. I remembered the experience fondly, but no details outside of there being a plane crash and the knowledge that at the end . After thinking on it off and on for years I finally found the wherewithal to read it this month (i.e. April 2024).
I liked it quite a lot despite the intervening time. I was immediately immersed in Brian's story not just because he was going through something traumatic, but the way that Paulsen described his circumstances could be so evocative. I found the repetition of phrases very annoying and did not remember it at all from my first readthrough yet it was weirdly compelling? Like I think it was a good way to emphasize Brian's mental state even while I was frustrated by the circularity.
Survivalist fiction is very popular for kids nowadays (it could have been popular then too, but I don't recall there being much of it when I was 11 in like 2009 so I doubt it was huge in the 80s either) and this is a cornerstone of the genre in many ways. It can be a heavy read depending on how empathetic a person you are, but I would say it's an easy read overall in that it moves quickly and isn't particularly graphic. A even-keeled recommendation from me though not an emphatic one.
Spoiler
Brian is rescuedI liked it quite a lot despite the intervening time. I was immediately immersed in Brian's story not just because he was going through something traumatic, but the way that Paulsen described his circumstances could be so evocative. I found the repetition of phrases very annoying and did not remember it at all from my first readthrough yet it was weirdly compelling? Like I think it was a good way to emphasize Brian's mental state even while I was frustrated by the circularity.
Survivalist fiction is very popular for kids nowadays (it could have been popular then too, but I don't recall there being much of it when I was 11 in like 2009 so I doubt it was huge in the 80s either) and this is a cornerstone of the genre in many ways. It can be a heavy read depending on how empathetic a person you are, but I would say it's an easy read overall in that it moves quickly and isn't particularly graphic. A even-keeled recommendation from me though not an emphatic one.
nettahk's review against another edition
I feel like I had to read this book three times in school and hated it. Something reminded me of it recently, talking to my roommates about the regionally specific lessons in elementary school.
It’s weird to come back to it now and enjoy it, or at least not hate it. It turns out that resenting it, it being such a feature of my early adolescence, made it lodge inside me pretty solidly. I still think a lot of it is contrived (oh, he survives an attack from a moose? A tornado surfaces the plane? ), and part of that is because I can’t help but read it with the aim, “Would I be able to do that? Would I figure that out? Would I not give up?” To which the answer has to be no.
It feels soooo cheesy to say but rereading it really makes me think about life. Not just the themes in the book, but also how my own life cycles, how things stick and then come back.
It’s weird to come back to it now and enjoy it, or at least not hate it. It turns out that resenting it, it being such a feature of my early adolescence, made it lodge inside me pretty solidly. I still think a lot of it is contrived (
It feels soooo cheesy to say but rereading it really makes me think about life. Not just the themes in the book, but also how my own life cycles, how things stick and then come back.
thevaliantqueen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
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? Yes
4.5
bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
The survival story is harrowing and compelling, and I wanted to keep reading it. Unfortunately, I wasn't super into the subplot about Brian's mom, and I found the author's tendency toward repetition to be annoying, to the extent that it often pulled me out of the narrative.
The survival story is harrowing and compelling, and I wanted to keep reading it. Unfortunately, I wasn't super into the subplot about Brian's mom, and I found the author's tendency toward repetition to be annoying, to the extent that it often pulled me out of the narrative.
timeislikeariver's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
simple but classic, inspired many woods survival adventure games with me and my friends
jaycie_90's review against another edition
5.0
Hatchet takes us through a 13-year-old boy, Brian's journey through survival after his plane's pilot has a heart attack and is forced to crash land in the middle of Canada's wilderness.
I love that the reader gets Brian's thought process about what he's going through, how he makes it feel real, and how Brian compares what he's seen in movies to what is happening to him now. Of course, the book is all about Brian, but it feels like something is missing; one detail that I thought was annoying is that it only shows Brian's best foot forward.
I love that the reader gets Brian's thought process about what he's going through, how he makes it feel real, and how Brian compares what he's seen in movies to what is happening to him now. Of course, the book is all about Brian, but it feels like something is missing; one detail that I thought was annoying is that it only shows Brian's best foot forward.