Day: May 25, 2021

#Diverseathon2021: The River by Gary Paulsen (Brian’s Saga #2)

The River
Series: Brian’s Saga #2
Author: Gary Paulsen

Narrator: Peter Coyote
Published: June 1991
Audiobook

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: May 9-11, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

“We want you to do it again.”

These words, spoken to Brian Robeson, will change his life. Two years earlier, Brian was stranded alone in the wilderness for 54 days with nothing but a small hatchet. Yet he survived.

Now the government wants him to go back into the wilderness so that astronauts and the military can learn the survival techniques that kept Brian alive. Soon the project backfires, though, leaving Brian with a wounded partner and a long river to navigate. His only hope is to build a raft and try to transport the injured man a hundred miles downstream to a trading post–if the map he has is accurate.

Jessica’s Review:

As a part of May’s prompt for #Diverseathon2021 I am continuing the Brian’s Saga series by Gary Paulsen. 

It’s been two years since Brian survived living in the Canadian wilderness and now the government wants him to do it again but his time showing someone how he managed to survive.  Brian decides to do this as he couldn’t NOT help. 

So begins Brian’s second adventure in the wilderness, but this time he is not alone. This time should have been different but things do not always go according to plan.  Brian’s associate is injured and Brian is basically forced to fend for himself and the injured man. Should Brian wait for help to eventually come or should they travel down the river? Brian decides to go down the river as he believes the injured man will not survive.

Very similar to Hatchet, yet also different, The River is also another survival story. There are some things that you may have to suspend disbelief ( getting struck by lightning and very quickly building a boat, let alone how much traveling was done on the river) but remember the target audience of this series is middle grades boys, so this really should not be an issue. I really enjoyed The River and I am looking forward to what may happen next in the series, but will Brian really agree to go out in the wilderness again???  After this second trip I would say “NO MORE!”  I doubt that I myself would have agreed to go on another trip after surviving nearly two months in the wilderness… alone. 

Like Hatchet,The River was also narrated by Peter Coyote. I had the same issue with The River as I did with Hatchet with the accompanying music.

The River is recommended!

***
For full details on this year long readathon, please click here.
And don’t forget about the awesome GRAND PRIZE at the end of the year. Click the link here for that information.

Beccie over at Bookies is having a giveaway for the month of May: She is giving away a copy of Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs (it is set in Canada). You can also enter this giveaway by entering through the Grand Prize link above.
***

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK