A review by emlocke
Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen

3.0

This story and the storytelling is less vivid and organic than HATCHET. I liked knowing how Brian thought about the challenges of winter survival as he came upon them (or they upon him) but there were some passages with little emotion, only talking through his approach to each problem. Still, wilderness survival, especially winter’s many challenges, has always fascinated me and I like this character a lot. After reading HATCHET as a kid, I would have liked to read more and I’m glad I discovered the second and third books in the Brian’s Saga series. This was a nice return to the concept of a kid alone in the wilderness after THE RIVER’s somewhat sensational premise. How interesting that Gary Paulson says he wrote this volume in response to a question many young readers’ asked after reading HATCHET: what if Brian hadn’t been rescued? He asks readers of BRIAN’S WINTER to suspend disbelief and read as though Brian didn’t/couldn’t use the beacon.