Book Club
by Pepper Mint
Greetings, avid readers!
I hope you brought your appetites with you! No, I'm not talking about tasty treats, silly. I've brought with me something better than just plain old food. Instead I've brought... food for thought. Hah, get it? You know, because this is a book discussion article? Doesn't that sound delicious?
No?
Well… stick around and I'll give you a cookie when we're done.
Gah, you'd think November is the month of feasts and banquets or something.
For this month's book discussion, I'd like to talk to y'all about a wonderful little story called Hatchet.
This young adult novel was written by a man named Gary Paulson, was published in 1987, and was awarded the Newbery Honor award for its sheer awesomeness. That little silver circle-thing - yeah, that shiny thing on the front cover? Newbery Honor award. I'm not sure what the award is awarded for, but I figure you've got to have a pretty fantastic book to get Newbery to put his little silver circle-thing on the front cover of your book.
Of which over two million have been sold, I might add… Oh yeah. It's that good.
Have I tempted you yet? Are you drooling with anticipation?
Ew, stop that!
Alright, the droolers can go clean themselves up while the rest of us discuss this wonderful story. Hatchet revolves around a young protagonist named Brian Robeson. He has recently watched his parents go through a nasty divorce and his father now resides in northern Canada. We meet Brian, already en route, as he travels via a small bush plane to visit his father during the early months of summer.
Attached securely to his belt is a small hatchet. It was a parting gift from his mother, and while Brian was at first reluctant to take it, he eventually did so to spare her feelings.
About midway into the flight things take a turn for the catastrophic. Brian's pilot (and the only other person on the tiny plane) suffers a massive heart attack and dies. The plane remains airborne for some time but as the fuel begins to dwindle, Brian takes life by the horns - or rather, the flight controls in hand - and attempts to guide the plane towards the ground. He crash lands into a lake in a small clearing in an uninhabited tract of Canadian wilderness.
Dun dun dun!
Brian survives, of course. It'd be a rather short book if he didn't. His hatchet survives the trip as well and as we progress through the book the hatchet becomes a crucial factor in Brian's survival. It's a tool, it's a fire maker, it's a weapon, it's a trusted friend. It's also a link between his remote setting and the civilized world, a world that seems to drift farther and farther away as the chance of rescue becomes less and less likely.
Now… why, oh why, during this month of feasts and family am I recommending a book in which a family is torn apart and a young boy is left in the woods with no food and no survival gear?
I'll tell you why! It's Thanksgiving, y'all! As in, the "Day of Giving Thanks". In today's society, where we have so much at our disposal, how often do we take the time to give thanks? How much do we take for granted? One of my favorite things about Hatchet is how often Brian remembers to be grateful for everything he has. He doesn't sit under a tree and cry and pout and wait for good things to fall into his lap (well... not for very long). He gets up, goes out there, and survives. With all odds against him, he survives. And he always makes time to think back and be grateful for what he has and all the little things that have allowed him to continue breathing, to continue waking up each morning, to continue hoping that someone will find him.
I feel like society has much to learn from young Brian.
Don't forget during this month of feasting to pick up a book and feed your mind as well. Hatchet! You'll find it in a bookstore or library near you!
Happy reading!