The River by Gary Paulsen (for kids) 1.5/5

This book is the second in the Hatchet Adventure series. You definitely need to read Hatchet first otherwise you’ll be lost in the forest like Brian.

*Spoiler from the first book: Brian Robeson was stranded for 54 days in the Canadian wilderness but gets home safely. A few years after being comfortable at home, now 15 years old, Brian gets a knock on the door. It’s government agents asking Brian to go to another deserted forest to teach them survival. So they can teach their recruits to survive. As you can imagine, Brian (and his mom) are reluctant to agree. But Brian goes with Derek, a government psychologist. A weather event puts their lives at risk even more. Brian faces a critical decision. He must travel with unconscious Derek by river 100 miles to a trading post. Otherwise, he risks dying while waiting for help that isn’t coming.

I didn’t like this book. A lot of repetition for no reason. “At last, at last… at last”. Brian calls his time in the forest The Time. And why, god why, would a mom willingly send her 15 year old son back out? She knows he almost died the first time. I struggled reading this book because Coco had so many questions because the wording was weird. Hatchet was way better in our opinion. Up next is Brian’s Winter.

Coco’s rating: 3.5/5