Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Brian is on his way to Canada to visit his estranged father when the pilot of his small prop plane suffers a heart attack. Brian is forced to crash-land the plane in a lake--and finds himself stranded in the remote Canadian wilderness with only his clothing and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present before his departure.  
I first read this book in middle school, have re-read it many times, and now my own children love this book. Both my son and oldest daughter (12 and 9) are obsessed with this book. Brian is an evolving character. He begins as a middle school student suffering the effects of a divorce. He knows nothing about survival. This is territory students relate to!!! He goes through so many various emotions and experiences and nothing comes easy for him. Paulsen set out to make this as realistic as possible and he does an excellent job. Students will talk about this book. They will engage after reading this book. My own children each HAD to have their own copy of this book (Proud mommy moment). Three time Newberry winner says a lot for the book, Hatchet is emotional, eye opening and even I enjoy reading it again on occasion. 
Please keep in mind this book is target for middle school aged kids so the jargon is going to be a bit repetitive and descriptive.  This is not a defect in the book, this is a strength. We need books written on the level of our students, so they are engaged readers, and this book does that. Again, my 9 year old is enthralled by this book, so it is doing its job. It may seem simplistic to us as adults, I would hope so, but that does not entitle the book to a negative review. I was disappointed with many of the GoodReads reviewers for lowering their review of this book based on the language of the book alone. The language is adequate for the target audience. 

Educational content-4 out of 5 stars
Audio version 5 out of 5 stars
I give Hatchet 5 out of 5 stars