"The River" By Gary Paulsen

Title: The River
Author: Gary Paulsen
Published Year: 1991
Pages: 130 pages

The River is the sequel to Paulsen's earlier work Hatchet. However this time, the main character Brian does not end up surviving in the woods because his pilot has a heart attack, he goes into the woods to survive on purpose. The government has come to him and asks him to go into the woods and recreate how he was able to survive as he did in Hatchet and he agrees to do this setting out to a different lake than the one from the previous book along with a psychologist to observe and write down everything Brian does.

Having said that, the knowledge of surviving in the woods is already known so the learning is not a major part of the book until the lightning storm comes. The psychologist that is sent out with Brian is hit by lightning and knocked unconscious and the radio they have is destroyed. Brian is then set forth with the task of trying to get himself and the man out of the woods to save the man's life. He decides to build a raft and get the man out of the woods. Building a raft and navigating an unknown river with an unconscious man is new to Brian and this is where the act of survival comes in.

Paulsen is able to tell another story of survival with different obstacles with the same character convincingly.