4.0
adventurous challenging reflective sad medium-paced

I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book. Hatchet is not my favorite book, and I wouldn't say that Gary Paulsen has ever been a favorite author. Plus, this book is written in the distant third person voice, which is usually something I find highly annoying. However, I actually really liked this book. It is crazy all of the experiences that Gary Paulsen went through in his life--so many broken situations and ways that he was failed as a kid by adults and had to become a grown up earlier than he should have. There are some hints at more mature content, and the language is on the edge of coarse, so I probably wouldn't hand this to every kid who has read Hatchet, but definitely a 7th grade and up book that students will be fascinated by.