Brian's Return

"He leaned forward at the waist, slipped the paddle deep into the water and pulled back again, evenly, his arms and shoulders taking the load. The canoe came alive and seemed to leap ahead. He would follow his medicine." - Brian's Return Pg. 110

Every website I found suggesting good books for boys named Hatchet as an all time classic "boy book." I remember hearing about Hatchet when I was younger and so I was interested to read it, but unfortunately I was never able to obtain the book from the library. Instead I opted to read another book by Gary Paulsen titled Brian's Return.

Brian's Return tells the story of Brian's experience after he returns from the wilderness he first encountered in Hatchet. Now that he is back in civilization Brian begins to feel like he doesn't belong and realizes how much he longs for the wilderness he had left.

One thing I enjoyed about reading Brian's Return is that it reminded me a lot of a book I read for a college course called Into the Wild. Into the Wild is also about a young man who goes to live in the wilderness and begins to feel as though he doesn't belong in civilization. I was excited to see the similarities between the two books because although Into the Wild would be a difficult book for middle schoolers to read, Brian's Return is a like a much more accessible version of it! I would be excited to use Brian's Return (or even Hatchet once I am able to read it) as a part of a unit on the relationship between humans and nature.