Brian's Hunt

Brian's Hunt
by Gary Paulsen

Brian's Hunt
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Book Summary Information

Author: Gary Paulsen
Brand: Books
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-11
ISBN: 0553494155
Number of pages: 112
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780553494150
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of Brian's Hunt

Book Review: Great Adventure Story
Summary: 5 Stars

Minnesota-native Gary Paulsen has been one of my favorite middle-grade and YA authors for years. I can't really remember which of his books I first read, but he's written a lot of awfully good ones. His characters are always understandable, real, and - mostly - tied to nature in some ways.

His most iconic figure is Brian Robeson, the star of HATCHET. In that book, Brian was a city kid who ended up crashing into the brush when the pilot of the plane he was in had a heart attack and died suddenly. With only a hatchet - no matches, no sleeping bag, and no supplies, Brian taught himself how to live in the wilderness. His personal growth spread over 54 days, and the book become one of the best-received middle-grade novels ever. If you haven't read it, or your child hasn't read it, you should.

BRIAN'S HUNT is the newest book in the five-volume series. Brian is 16 at the time of this novel, and he's become more certain of himself. He's out on the lakes in Canada, taking his time to get to the Cree American Indian tribe he became friends with during the course of his adventures. He's very much a loner, and has even talked his parents and school into letting him try his hand at home schooling himself.

Paulsen's attention to detail and the ways of nature may prove slow-going to most of today's young readers (unless they're already in love with the series), but you can feel the love the author has for such things. I learned a lot about fishing and hunting during the course of the book, though I intend to do neither, and I could tell my ten year old was filing away details while I read the novel to him.

However, Paulsen always delivers on the action in one of his books, and BRIAN'S HUNT is no exception. Before long, Brian wakes up to find a wounded dog looking for food and for help. Brian gives both, though those scenes are somewhat intense and carry a gross-out factor with them. The scenes are realistic, though, and very well written.

As Brian puts the puzzle of the dog's mysterious wounds together with her behavior as he hunts, it doesn't take him long to realize that the dog was mauled by a bear. Once that discovery is made, Brian learns bad news that sets him into the woods after the bear.

The details of how Brian tracks the bear, the skills and the observation necessary, are great. My son and I stayed glued to the pages, though we couldn't help taking a break every now and again to discuss some facet of hunting lore we hadn't been aware of. Although the material is mature, it's written on a level kids can easily understand it, and it's very honest. But if you have a youngster and you're thinking about letting him or her read this one, you might want to read it yourself first to make sure it meets with your approval and that it won't panic or bother your child.

I'm a big fan of Gary Paulsen's, and this book really hit the spot. At 99 pages long, it's a quick, intense read. Although Paulsen said he'd ended the Hatchet adventures after the publication of the last book, I can't help but be hopeful there will be more. Brian is starting to get interested in a girl, and I want to see how that works out for him.

Summary of Brian's Hunt

Millions of readers of Hatchet, The River, Brian?s Winter, and Brian?s Return know that Brian Robeson is at home in the Canadian wilderness. He has stood up to the challenge of surviving alone in the woods. He prefers being on his own in the natural world to civilization.

When Brian finds a dog one night, a dog that is wounded and whimpering, he senses danger. The dog is badly hurt, and as Brian cares for it, he worries about his Cree friends who live north of his camp. His instincts tell him to head north, quickly. With his new companion at his side, and with a terrible, growing sense of unease, he sets out to learn what happened. He sets out on the hunt.


From the Hardcover edition.
The multitudes of Gary Paulsen fans (or more accurately, Brian fans) will be thrilled to find that the author has penned yet another story about Brian Robeson. Although Paulsen once claimed that he would "write no more about Brian," he seems to have been softened by the "staggering amounts of mail from readers" begging for more about the teen who is more at home alone in the wilderness than in the hustle and bustle of city life. In Brian?s Hunt, the 16-year-old returns to the remote woods and lakes of Canada, where he encounters a mysteriously injured dog. His experiences two years earlier, after surviving a plane crash and months alone with only a hatchet to protect and provide for himself (Hatchet, Brian?s Winter, etc.), have prepared him well to survive now. But can anything prime him for the horror that awaits him on an island campsite where he intends to meet his Cree friends?

This short episode is rife with the kind of gritty--even gruesome--details readers have come to expect from the Newbery Honor author. In an afterword, Paulsen reminds readers that he bases his stories on personal experiences and his extensive knowledge of the wild side of nature.

Confidential to avid fans: an intimation of romance amid all the rugged drama hints that this will not be the last Brian book, either. (Ages 10 to 13) --Emilie Coulter

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