Paulsen, Gary. The River. New York: Random House Children's Books. 1991.
Annotation:
Two years ago 15 year old Brian Robeson was stranded alone in the wild for 54 days before escaping. He returns to the unforgiving forest with a government agent in hopes of sharing his survival skills. It is not long before things go horribly wrong and Brian is faced with saving both of their lives.
Nomination:
Gary Paulsen's The River, is filled with rich and descriptive imagery of wilderness and the mind and heart of a 15 year old boy desperately trying to survive. This is the follow-up book to Paulsen's Hatchet in which the main character, Brian Robeson, is stranded in the wild for 54 days before being rescued. The River does a nice job of laying out the mind-set of a boy who has gone through many changes as a result of his dangerous time away from home as well as the changes brought on by his parents recent divorce.
The River re-enforces Gary Paulsen's stature as one of the better YA adventure writers. Not only is the writing professional but there is a clear understanding of the topic of which he writes. He provides great description of the wild back-drop that Brian finds himself in once again. Paulsen bounces back-and-forth between the imagery of the forest and the dangers within and the psyche of Brian and his inner monologue. Being trapped in the wild once before has physically trained Brian to prepare for another adventure tempered by the fears that a 15 year old would experience in a life-threatening situation.
At times the writing can seem a bit over the top and created a childish feel for the reader in its desperation to qualify Brian's situation. This could possibly be due to the fact that I have not read a YA book in 15 years. Putting that aside I found The River to be a quick and entertaining read about mental toughness in the face of peril.
Annotation:
Two years ago 15 year old Brian Robeson was stranded alone in the wild for 54 days before escaping. He returns to the unforgiving forest with a government agent in hopes of sharing his survival skills. It is not long before things go horribly wrong and Brian is faced with saving both of their lives.
Nomination:
Gary Paulsen's The River, is filled with rich and descriptive imagery of wilderness and the mind and heart of a 15 year old boy desperately trying to survive. This is the follow-up book to Paulsen's Hatchet in which the main character, Brian Robeson, is stranded in the wild for 54 days before being rescued. The River does a nice job of laying out the mind-set of a boy who has gone through many changes as a result of his dangerous time away from home as well as the changes brought on by his parents recent divorce.
The River re-enforces Gary Paulsen's stature as one of the better YA adventure writers. Not only is the writing professional but there is a clear understanding of the topic of which he writes. He provides great description of the wild back-drop that Brian finds himself in once again. Paulsen bounces back-and-forth between the imagery of the forest and the dangers within and the psyche of Brian and his inner monologue. Being trapped in the wild once before has physically trained Brian to prepare for another adventure tempered by the fears that a 15 year old would experience in a life-threatening situation.
At times the writing can seem a bit over the top and created a childish feel for the reader in its desperation to qualify Brian's situation. This could possibly be due to the fact that I have not read a YA book in 15 years. Putting that aside I found The River to be a quick and entertaining read about mental toughness in the face of peril.
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