Brian's Winter

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Brian's Winter
Author Gary Paulsen
Country United States
Language English
Series Brian's Saga
Genre(s) Young adult
Publisher Scholastic Press
Publication date January, 1996
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 133 pp
ISBN ISBN 0-590-69013-2
Preceded by Hatchet
Followed by The River

Brian's Winter (also titled Hatchet: Winter) is the 1996 sequel to Gary Paulsen's young adult novel Hatchet.

It was also released as Hatchet: Winter by Pan Macmillan on February 9, 1996.

[edit] Plot summary

At the end of Hatchet, thirteen-year-old Brian, who has been trapped in the Canadian wilderness after a plane accident, decides to dive for supplies from the submerged aircraft. He almost drowns. He recovers, among other things, an emergency transmitter. Within hours, a pilot receives the beacon and rescues him. The book ends with a note that Brian, who learns wilderness survival through trial and error, probably would not have survived the upcoming harsh winter.

Paulsen says that many readers wrote to him, complaining about the deus ex machina ending. In response, Paulsen wrote Brian's Winter, which explores what would have happened if Brian had not activated the transmitter. The story deals with Brian constructing a winter shelter, building snow shoes, being attacked by a bear, and learning to make a more powerful bow. Eventually, Brian meets a family of Cree trappers, who help him return home.

This book is followed chronologically by three sequels, The River (actually written before Brian's Winter), Brian's Return, and Brian's Hunt.