Brian, a thirteen year old boy en-route to his father’s home in Canada, survives a plane crash that kills the pilot. Injured, alone, relying on his wits, memories of wilderness survival programs he has seen and hints he has been taught, and with only a hatchet given to his by his mother, he must find food, shelter, inner courage to prevail. He does and his story, though rushed and simply told, is effective.
Brian learns about his environment through observation and error. He notes the day he transitions from the old Brian – a city boy, ill-bred for the hostile wilderness and destined to succumb to his surroundings – to an intuitive, attuned being whom is at-one with nature, able to hunt, interpret, evade.
At the conclusion of the story Brian retrieves the survival pack from the plane, a feat made possible by a violent storm. The pack provides a bounty of equipment, dehydrated food, provisions that would see him survive much longer, if not for the onset of winter, and a fortuitous rescue.
At the beginning of the story the reader is informed that Brian’s parents are divorcing. He focuses on this, replaying the preceding events over in his mind, trying to attribute blame, and to understand it. This aspect of the story seems forced, inserted to strengthen Brian’s character maybe, except to me it felt awkward. The story would have been stronger without it.
In all a quick, entertaining read. ** out of ***** stars.
Brian learns about his environment through observation and error. He notes the day he transitions from the old Brian – a city boy, ill-bred for the hostile wilderness and destined to succumb to his surroundings – to an intuitive, attuned being whom is at-one with nature, able to hunt, interpret, evade.
At the conclusion of the story Brian retrieves the survival pack from the plane, a feat made possible by a violent storm. The pack provides a bounty of equipment, dehydrated food, provisions that would see him survive much longer, if not for the onset of winter, and a fortuitous rescue.
At the beginning of the story the reader is informed that Brian’s parents are divorcing. He focuses on this, replaying the preceding events over in his mind, trying to attribute blame, and to understand it. This aspect of the story seems forced, inserted to strengthen Brian’s character maybe, except to me it felt awkward. The story would have been stronger without it.
In all a quick, entertaining read. ** out of ***** stars.
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2 comments:
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Celular, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://telefone-celular-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.
At least you didn't spend too much time on it. It's been a long time since I read it, I just know that I did. It's aimed toward a younger audience, I'm sure. But hey, at least you can say you read some authentic American literature! And, I would still recommend Woodsong. It's about an adult man and his team of sled dogs. I loved it.
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