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    The River: Hatchet
    Unavailable
    The River: Hatchet
    Unavailable
    The River: Hatchet
    Audiobook2 hours

    The River: Hatchet

    Written by Gary Paulsen

    Narrated by Peter Coyote

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The government sends Brian back to the Canadian wilderness in this beloved follow-up to the award-winning classic Hatchet from three-time Newbery Honor-winning author Gary Paulsen!

    Two years after Brian Robeson survived fifty-four days alone in the Canadian wilderness, the government wants him to head back so they can learn what he did to stay alive. This time Derek Holtzer, a government psychologist, will accompany him. But a freak storm leaves Derek unconscious. Brian's only hope is to transport Derek a hundred miles down the river to a trading post. He's survived with only a hatchet before--now can Brian build a raft and navigate an unknown river?

    For the first time it's not only Brian's survival that's at stake. . .

    An IRA-CBC Children's Choice
    A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year

    Read all the Hatchet Adventures!
    Brian's Winter
    The River
    Brian's Return
    Brian's Hunt

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 5, 2000
    ISBN9780553751925
    Unavailable
    The River: Hatchet
    Author

    Gary Paulsen

    Gary Paulsen (1939-2021) wrote more than two hundred books for children and adults. Three of his novels – Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room – were Newbery Honor books. In 1997, he received the ALA's Margaret A. Edwards Award for his contribution to young adult literature. His books have sold over 35 million copies around the world.

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    Reviews for The River

    3.5/5

    395 ratings25 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      A tremendous read!
    • 5/5
      very good book
    • 5/5
      If you read the first one its because you enjoyed its storytelling.

      This one is quick and adventurous in the same vane. With just as good of storytelling.

    • 4/5
      A simple story to listen to and enjoy while going about your afternoon business.
    • 5/5
      Great story! I know I got them out of order, but I loved them all!
    • 4/5
      An excellent sequel. The military wants his help to improve survival training. So Brian finds this outing easier until Derek Holtzer, a government psychologist is hurt and now Brian has to take care of another person. Quick listen
    • 3/5
      Not as good as Hatchet, but it's definitely Paulsen!
    • 3/5
      3.5

      Later meer
    • 5/5
      The BEST book I’ve ever read. Love this 100% and wish there was a part three!!!
    • 3/5
      I read Hatchet way back in elementary school and loved it. My mom had read it back then and loved it too (she read a few books of the series). So when she decided to re-read Hatchet and read the rest of the series I went along with it. My mother and I lovingly call Brian "Hatchet."So Brian has gone back to the wilderness to help the government train astronauts and others how to survive in a situation like Brian's. I enjoyed this one probably as much as I originally enjoyed Hatchet. I did feel that this one was a bit short (it is a kids book though) and kind of wrapped up abruptly. I would recommend this to people who enjoyed Hatchet.
    • 4/5
      Brian is back in the wilderness, convinced by a psychologist and by his own conscience, that he needs to partly recreate his survival experiences. There's an adult with him, and they are prepared, what could go wrong?Good sequel to the first book, "The Hatchet".
    • 4/5
      Another fun survival story from Gary Paulsen. Not as good as Hatchet, but I still really enjoyed it. Plenty of action. I wanted more length, but it is a children's book.
    • 5/5
      phenomenal
    • 4/5
      In the first book, 13-year old Brian survived in the woods by himself for almost 2 months. A couple of years later, he is asked to go back to the woods, along with a psychologist, to show how he survived the first time so those skills can be taught to others. Unfortunately, things go wrong when they get out there, and Brian needs to save not only himself, but the psychologist, as well. I really enjoyed this. Ok, not a realistic scenario, but the book was still entertaining. I listened to the audio, which was well done. I just wish it had been a little longer – it was over so fast! Despite being short, it is fast-paced (which maybe made it feel shorter, still!).
    • 5/5
      In the book “The River” (the 2nd book in the Hatchet series) Brain is asked to and do it again. But this time he would be by a lake with Derek. Derek is a teacher who teaches people how to survive in the wilderness. They get dropped off by a lake with everything but a kitchen sink. But Brain sends the plane away and they are stuck with just two pocket knives to survive with. The first night there is a huge thunder storm and Derek is put in a coma by a lightning strike. Brian decides to head down stream to find help for Derek. He finds out that he has to travel just under 100 miles to get to the nearest civilization. He builds a raft for Derek and him. After two days on the raft Brian is tired, sick, and hungry. He blacks out and wakes up to some people pulling him out of the water. He later finds out that Derek was in a low risk coma and that he was ok.I would rate this book a five because it kept me interested throughout the whole book. I thought that it was very suspenseful and I would definitely recommend it. I liked how the book had unsuspecting turns. The one thing that I would change is the point of view. The book is in third person, but I thought that it would be better if it was in Brian’s point of view. I think it would be better in Brian’s point of view because it would be more interesting. It would have been nice to know what he was thinking and feeling through his adventure.
    • 3/5
      This is book two in the popular Hatchet series.

      It’s been nearly two years since Brian Robeson endured nearly two months on his own in the Canadian wilderness. The last thing he expects when he opens the door is some government types who bluntly propose, “We want you to do it again.” Of course this time, the men explain to his mother, Brian will have Derek, a government psychologist along, and they’ll be outfitted with survival gear, including a radio for emergencies. Of course, things don’t go exactly as planned and Brian must rely on his own intelligence, cool reasoning and reservoirs of strength and courage to get them safely back.

      Frankly, I thought it was just too contrived. Brian’s reactions ring true – fear, anxiety, disdain, worry, joy, and excitement are all present at various times. But since he’s not alone, there is far less time for him to think about his situation or what he misses, and that makes him more distant from the reader for much of the book. It seemed much more action-driven than the first book, and I just didn’t enjoy that as much.
    • 3/5
      This book was alright. I didn't enjoy it as much as Hatchet. What I liked in Hatchet was the focus on the day to day survival, and there was much less of it in this book.

      Still, this was a very enjoyable book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys books about wilderness survival or books about the outdoors.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this addition to the Brian Robeson (Hatchet) series. Paulsen's emphasis on luck being the key to Brian's survival seems both an intelligent move from the perspective of liability, yet is frequently shown to be not true. Brian survives sheerly by his ingenuity and unnatural understanding of engineering and the natural world.
    • 5/5
      This book is about a boy named Brian. He was once in a plane crash and survived for fifty-two days with nothing but a hatchet. He was then rescued and brought back home. One day, he was cooking dinner when some men came into his home. They asked if his mother was home but he said no. The men said they'd be back when she was here, and they did. One of the three men introduced himself as Derek Holtzer. He said to Brian, "We want you to do it again."This book is the second one in a series, and it was just like the first one. It was full of action and suspense. When Brian and Derek arraved in the woods, Brian told Derek to setup camp while he went looking for food. It started to rain, so Brian abandoned the hunt to check on Derek. He was tryong to work his radio, so he could tell his colleagues the progress they were making. Then, some lightning hit Derek not once, but twice. Brian was knocked out, so he didn't wake up until morning. He found that Derek was in a coma, the radio was fried, and the nearest civilization was a few hundred miles south. Brian constructed a raft of wood, and took Derek down "Necktie River." They trip was successful, Derek was okay, but Brian lost twelve pounds. He was eventually nursed back to health.
    • 5/5
      Matt O'ConnorFebruary 9,2012The Bat CaveMr. BronsonThe RiverThe River is an excellent book. It is very unique compared to other books. It is about a boy named Brian Robeson who gets lost in the wilderness. Now he not only has to care for himself but he must guide another man, Derek to safety. If Brian does not guide Derek to safety Derek will die.There is a lot of action in this book. One reason I liked this book is that all of the action is natural. Sometimes a tree will fall or lightning will strike. Another realistic feature is that Brian must either hunt or fish for his food.Brian is faced with many problems in this book. One example is that he must somehow manage to find food for himself and Derek. Too overcome these problems Brian will plan out helpfull solutions. For example Brian creates a fish trap for food. This book is part of the Hatchet series.I have now read four of the books. Iam not sure how many there are in the series but I am looking foward to reading the next book, Brian's Return.The author of this book, Gar Paulsen, knows how to grab youru attention. He writes about true, real life events but adds fiction to them to create a story. I really liked this book and I highly recommend it to anyone in search of a new one. 
    • 4/5
      A nice continuation of the Hatchet series. Very entertaining, keeps you wanting more.
    • 4/5
      This book takes place after the events in Hatchet. Brian is home and recovering the best he can, when a man who runs a survival school asks Brian to re-live his time in the woods literally. He wants him to go back and recreate what happened to him so he can study it and help people survive in the same situation.I really liked this one maybe not as much as Hatchet but it was really good. Brian is such a grown-up after what he has been through and proves that no matter what he is a survivor. But all I kept thinking was why Brian you really need to stay out of the woods! I am now on a huge Gary Paulsen kick I see why his books are so popular I think I will have to read them all! Can't wait to read Brian's Winter.
    • 4/5
      In Gary Paulsen's The River, Brian gets asked by the government to agree to teach the army survival skills in bad conditions. So, of course Brian talks his mother into letting him go to Canada to make a survival video with a man named Derek. Brian and Derek head to Canada and immediately when they arrive a lightning storm lands and strikes Derek. At this time Brian tries to build a raft and make it all the way down the rough river to get Derek to some doctors.
    • 4/5
      I miss the details about making items for survival, such as were in the other three Brian books. This was more of an adventure that assumed we had absorbed the details of bow-making, etc. from the other books. But I still enjoyed it!
    • 3/5
      Brian goes back to the woods and I wanted to see what would happen next. Not as satisfying, nor as long as Hatchet, but a great read nonetheless.