A review by rebelbelle13
Brian's Return by Gary Paulsen

2.0

I might have expected too much from this Hatchet sequel. I'm not sure what it says about your novel when the best part of it is the Author's Note at the end. If the whole book had been about the last three pages, I would certainly have been more engaged and interested. Paulsen talks about his own experiences in the bush, and what he got out of it, and his draw to the woods and fight against a normal life. Half of this short book is Brian's struggle to fit back into the world he came from, before the forest. Paulson focuses heavily on Brian hanging out with friends, and then eventually seeing a therapist. This is unnecessary and will lose people, even as short as this book is. Readers of Hatchet didn't sign up to see a kid go to therapy. Brian is finally back in the wilderness at page 60- out of a 110 page book. His journey up the rivers and lakes to his destination is rushed, and not nearly enough time is spent on things like hunting, food preparation, fire building, survival things... you know, the reason why kids were reading this series to begin with. I can only hope it turns around with the last installment.