Customer Reviews

The River

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(68)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

The river
By: Gary Paulsen
Review By: Cole Lundgren

The river is a sequel to the book, Hatchet. In this book Brian Robeson is asked by the government to go back and do the same thing he did in Hatchet. They wanted to have Brian go out in the middle of the forest with Derek Holtzer. Derek was a psychologist that was going to go with Brian and take notes on what he did to survive. Then Derek was going to re-teach these methods to people.
Of course when Brian got asked this he was a little skeptical if he wanted to go or not. His mom didn't really want him to go because she thought it would be dangerous. They had planned to bring pretty much everything besides the kitchen sink. His mom approved on letting Brian go on this adventure.
They set off to the lake that they had picked out. It was a big lake with a river flowing out of it. Brian was a little nervous of being in a plane again. The last time he was in a plane it crashed and he was stranded. This time he would just get dropped off in the woods. When Brian and Derek got to the lake Brian realized something. He realized that it just wouldn't be the same. If they had just about everything they needed it just wouldn't be the same. Brian told Derek that they needed to leave everything. Derek agreed with Brian. The only thing they kept was a radio for emergencies.
As soon as the plane left they set off around the lake searching for things to eat, make fire with, and a nice shelter. They found a nice shelter that was near the lake. It was an old tree that had grown into a hill and it left an overhang. They thought it would be perfect. The first night there they didn't have a fire. They got ate alive by mosquitos. Brian asked himself why he was living through this hell again. Then he thought of all the people he would be helping by doing this. The second day they found a great amount of food, and got a fire going. That night the sky was clear but Brian could hear off in the distance some rumbling. He realized it was going to rain.
While they were sleeping a huge CRACK woke Brian and Derek up! It was right on top of them. The lightning was striking all around them. Derek reached up to get the radio and at that instant he was stuck by lightning. It sent him into an instant coma.
Brian is thinking of what he is going to do. The radio was burned out because the lightning hit that too. The day before Derek had checked in on the radio and they said that they would only check in once a week. They had 6 more days to wait before anyone would even know that they were in trouble.
Brian then decides to make a raft and go take Derek down the river. The raft is made out of big logs that the beavers had cut perfectly for him.
Brian had to make it down the river in 2, or 3 days before Derek would get dehydrated. There are many obstacles on the way. If you want to see if they make it down the river with Derek still alive you will have to read this book and find out.

"That's exactly it. We have trouble. That's what this is all about. You want to learn, but if you have all that backup, it's just more games. It's not real. You wouldn't have that if the situation were real, would you?
-This is a quote from Brian. He is talking to Derek about leaving all the stuff on the plane. He is saying that if they had all of it the trip would be pointless and they wouldn't learn anything.

Characters
Brian- Brian is a smart athletic boy. He is about 15 years old. He has great common sense, and can react fast in critical situations.

Derek- Derek is a psychologist. He is in about his young 30's. He is not very athletic and he doesn't have the greatest common sense ever.

Pilot- The pilot is a young kid about in his 20's. When he is flying the plane it soothed Brian because he realized that he wouldn't have a heart attack like what happened in Hatchet.

Mom- Brian's mom is a nice woman who cares a lot for Brian. She doesn't really want to see Brian go on this adventure.


I think Gary Paulsen did a great job writing this book. I love reading his books about Brian being in the wilderness. They are all well written and they all go together with each other. I think this is my favorite book of his I have read yet.

If you like reading books about the wilderness and adventure this is the perfect book for you. I would suggest reading Hatchet before you read this book.

I felt The River was a very good book. Gary Paulsen did an excellent job at writing it. I love reading all of his books. So far this one is my favorite. It is a great adventure that I would suggest anyone to read.

Having read other books by Gary Paulsen like Tracker, Woodsong, Dogsong, The Monument, The Island, Night John,and the Hatchet series,ect, I realized that The River is not one of Paulsen's best work. The River seemed a little unrealistic and it had a very basic polt, Brian has to go back to the Woods, something goes wrong, he takes a trip down a river to a trading station and gets rescued. Its all very predictable. The part that seems un realistic is the part where Derek gets struck by lightning and Brian happens not to have been hit, and the radio happens to break. Also building a raft can be harder than Paulson makes it sound.

But to all Gary Paulsen fans, don't stop reading Gary Paulsen books just because this book has lowish ratings. Hatchet is the most wellknown book by Gary Paulsen and many who have read Hatchet haven't read many of the other great books by Gary Paulsen. I remeber a few years ago when I was in fourth grade, The River was the second Gary Paulsen book I read, But I still decided to keep reading books by him. I read Night John when I was in fifth grade adn it still is my favorite book by Gary Paulson now. You may have noticed that I'm not Ralf Kiehl, I'm his daughter, a 13 year old kid, but I still really like to read Gary Paulson.

The River by Gary Paulson is one of my favorite books. I can't believe that Brian Robeson would actually go back into the wild! Brian will be going with a man from the U.S government. He is also going with lots of equipment. When they get at the lake, Brian decides he will leave all the stuff on the plane. All was fine until a giant thunderstorm comes. The man gets hit by one and is put into a coma. Brian will have to travel down a river 100 miles to a trading post.
I liked this book because it had a ton of action and adventure. I hope you liked this book as much as I did!
Glen, R.I

In this sequel to Gary Paulsen's The Hatchet Brian finds himself faced with a new challenge. Instead of he himself surviving, he must get someone else to safety. Derek Holtzer asks Brian to do it again, to survive so that he can teach others to do it, but then he is struck by lightning, disabling him and forcing Brian to get him to safety before it's top late. The only option is the river that leads out to safety, as he is yet faced with another challenge.
I thought that this book was an easy read, and it was fantastically crafted, just like any other Paulsen work. He brings fourth a style which is felt because of his experiences in the wilderness, and makes you go through all of the ups and downs that the character experiences. It was definitely a thrill ride from start to finish, with a good strong plot and lots of interesting details of survival. Overall I'd say that this book is a worthy sequel to Hatchet and a must for any Paulsen fan.

The River is the follow up to the popular book Hatchet. In this book, government officials ask Brian to relive his wilderness adventure so that they can learn his survival techniques. Brian is hesitant about going back to the place that he was so glad to get out of. However, he agrees to go so that others can learn what he did. A official from the government comes with him to take notes on what Brian did, and everthing seems to be going well. Unfortunatly, good fortune does not last forever. During a storm one night, the government official is hit with lightning and left in a comna. Knowing that the man will not survive very long, Brian decides to build a raft and float the man down the river to help. This story is about Brian's journey down river and the struggles he has to face. I only gave it three stars due to the fact that the story can easily be read in one sitting and lacks body. It seems that Gary Paulsin does not know when to stop writing about Brian, and this story proves that. It could have been better, but I would still recomend reading it if you enjoyed Hatchet.

Brian Robeson is approached by representatives from a government survival school. The representatives want Brian to "do it again." Almost two years before, Brian survived a plane crash in Canada and had to live in the wilderness for fity-four days with only a hatchet. Brian, now fifteen, attempts to recreate/simulate the past event along with a companion, a psychologist named Derek. The situation is different this go round, and Brian and Derek begin an adventure that will change their lives. I liked the book because of the adventure Paulsen created throughout it. The book is easy for readers to move through and has short chapters. The only problem I had with it was that Brian seems to come up with a plan to survive so easily.

The River is a great sequel to Gary Paulsen's book Hatchet. The main characters are Brian, the boy who had been in the wilderness, and Derek, a man who wants to see how Brian survived. In this novel Derek wants to go back into the wilderness with Brian to learn how he survived. Derek wants to be able to teach astronauts and the military how to survive. This time Brian is not alone because Derek is with him. When Brian and Derek got to the lake at night, the mosquitoes attacked them like rain attacks the roof of my house. This reminds me of the times when I go to camp and get attacked by mosquitoes. When this happens, I feel miserable just like Brian did. Then I walk around itching, scratching and feeling like I want to die. When Derek was shocked by lightning, Brian had to decide to stay there or take Derek down the river to get help. Brian had to float down the river. This reminds me of when I had to do forty jumps in the air at tennis practice. I didn't want to do it, but I had to, just like Brian had to go down the river. It is very hard to do forty jumps because it hurts your back. I knew I had to do it to stay in the clinic just like Brian knew he had to go down the river. Brian had alot of fear when he fell off the raft. I have that same fear about roller coasters. Nobody made me go on them, but I am still afraid of them. I can imagine how it must feel to be afraid and then actually to have to go ahead and do it. The River is a great novel. Everyone who likes adventure should read this book. I like Brian because he had the courage to follow through with things. He doesn't whine about things; he just does what he has to do. We sometimes slack off and whine about things. When we do, we should think of Brian

This book continues the saga of Brian and his survival adventures. When you think that Brian can't be challenged by anything more than he was the first time in Hatchet, he finds himself stuck the wilderness again but responsible for another person, not just himself. This arouses new feelings of responsibility, fear, and resentment. But of course, Brian overcomes these obstacles and saves the day once again. It is quite short in comparison to its predecessor, but it is still very exciting. The pace is as fast as the river they have to flow down, but then he keeps hitting obstacles that makes the reader "tense" and worry that they won't make it. It is not as satisfying as Hatchet, but still good and Brian's character is consistent with how the reader thought he would be, if they got another chance to check in on his development. It is a good book for Boys and girls. Good suspense!

This book is pretty kewl. It is filled with action and leaves you on the edge of your seat the entire time you are reading it. In the last book "The Hatchet" his plane crashed and he was forced to survive in the wilderness alone! In this book a government official named Derek comes to his house to ask him to do it all over again... just without the crashing part! So he agrees and they go out there and the guy is struck by lightning and is in a coma, and Brian knows the only way to save him is to build a raft to go down river to the trading post so he can get medical attention. The rest you will have to find out by yourself!!!

I think that this book was one of the best book's ever in the whole collection of Hatchet and Brian's winter I sugest that you buy the book or even the collection of Hatchet and Brian's winter because it's worth buying it and it is a good book and collection for kid's and adult's. It is worth the money I guerent it because i started Hathet two days ago and now im on Brian's Hunt and I realy think that the book is the best. I also think that the auther Gary Paulsen is a god to the book world and that most of his story's they just look realy real and if he's looking at this now I say thank you for writeing all the books he has writeing.
By Nick Doyon (Biddeford,Maine)