HATCHET (AI DRAFT)
A boy survives the wilderness, but despair and death complicate his courage.
The Worldview
Read it together. HATCHET honors hard work, resourcefulness and perseverance, but its lonely world offers no clear source of help beyond Brian himself, and its mature scenes call for a parent’s guidance.
Brian learns to watch carefully, think through mistakes and work patiently rather than surrender to self-pity. Those are valuable lessons. The story also shows the limits of self-reliance: Brian falls into despair when he believes rescue will not come, and he attempts suicide. His parents’ divorce and his mother’s affair leave him angry and burdened by a secret; the story does not offer a strong moral reckoning with her betrayal.
God is not part of Brian’s understanding of the wilderness. He often sees events through the language of luck. You can affirm Brian’s diligence while reminding your child that Christians are not meant to depend on themselves alone. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1–2, ESV).
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESThirteen-year-old Brian is flying north to visit his father when the pilot of their small plane becomes incapacitated. Brian has to bring the plane down in the Canadian wilderness, where he is stranded with little more than his clothes and the hatchet his mother gave him. He must learn to find food, make shelter and keep going, while carrying the pain of his parents’ recent divorce and a secret he has not told his father.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own reader.
- Opening chapters The pilot suffers a severe heart attack and dies; Brian struggles to control the plane and crashes into a lake.
- After a passing plane fails to see Brian In despair, Brian tries to kill himself by cutting his wrists with the hatchet; afterward, he sees blood on them.
- Later wilderness chapters Brian is injured by a charging moose and is endangered by a tornado that destroys parts of his shelter.
- Brian's exploration of the sunken plane He sees the pilot's partly decomposed remains in the water.
A locator so a parent can pre-read the scenes that matter instead of the whole book.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
A moral survival story extols perseverance, patience and practical ingenuity, but places Brian in a world without God and leans on self-reliance and luck.
Foul Language
Several exclamatory misuses of God's name and one use of the “d” obscenity. The language is not presented as a lesson, but is not rebuked.
Violence
Moderate realistic peril, such as the pilot's severe heart attack and death, the plane crash, Brian's injuries from a porcupine and a charging moose, a tornado, animals killed for food, and Brian's attempted suicide by cutting his wrists. He sees blood on his wrists and later encounters the pilot's partly decomposed remains, including a skull underwater. The pilot's death is described vividly; the suicide attempt is not successful.
Sex
Brian remembers seeing his mother passionately kiss another man, the affair behind his parents’ divorce. No LGBTQ or gender-identity content.
Nudity
No nudity.
Alcohol Use
No alcohol use.
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drug use.
Miscellaneous Immorality
Brian feels intense anger toward his mother and keeps her affair secret from his father. In Chapter 1, Brian also expresses hatred and contempt toward the lawyers and judges handling his parents' divorce; those thoughts are not directly corrected. The story shows his pain and gradual change, but does not clearly rebuke the adultery or resolve the secrecy through confession.
Is the Writing Any Good?
Four stars: HATCHET is a taut, memorable adventure. Paulsen’s short, sometimes repetitive sentences keep you close to Brian’s fear and urgency, while the practical details of building shelter, making fire and finding food make his struggle feel immediate. Brian’s steady growth gives the story heart. The family-divorce subplot is less fully developed than the survival story, but the book remains compelling.
Talk About It
Four questions for the dinner table, the car, or a parent and teen reading it together.
Brian survives by watching carefully, learning from mistakes and doing hard work. Which of his choices show wisdom, and when would asking someone for help be the wiser choice?
Proverbs 3:5–6 · James 1:5When Brian believes no one will find him, he gives in to despair and tries to hurt himself. What might you do if a friend felt hopeless, and which trusted adults could help?
Psalm 34:18 · Galatians 6:2Brian carries the secret of his mother's affair and feels angry with her. How can truthfulness and forgiveness matter when a family is hurting?
Ephesians 4:25 · Colossians 3:13Brian sees the wilderness as a place where luck can turn for or against him. How might seeing the world as God's creation change the way you think about hardship and help?
Psalm 121:1–2 · James 1:17The Final Word
HATCHET is a gripping story of grit and growth, but it carries heavier material than its plain style may suggest. Read it with your middle-schooler, and make room to discuss Brian’s despair, his self-reliance and the harm caused by his mother’s affair. Our answer: Read it together.
