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Brian's Return (Brian's Saga #4)

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 4,532 ratings · 203 reviews

As millions of readers of Hatchet, The River, and Brian's Winter know, Brian Robeson survived alone in the wilderness by finding solutions to extraordinary challenges. But now that's he's back in civilization, he can't find a way to make sense of high school life. He feels disconnected, more isolated than he did alone in the North. The only answer is to return-to "go back...more

Paperback, 144 pages

Published May 8th 2001 by Laurel Leaf (first published September 11th 1992)

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Best Survival Stories

116th out of 446 books — 724 voters

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

Best Wilderness Survival Books

6th out of 35 books — 14 voters

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Apr 18, 2009 Elisa Babyyy(: rated it 3 of 5 stars

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May 02, 2013 Lee Koehler rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read the book Brian Return and I had made a strong connection with it. Like how it seems like you don’t fit into school and the only thing you can fit into is the wilderness. It fells like home sometimes and you never want to leave. This book has a couple awards like a winner 2000 of the ALA Quick Pick for Young Adult Reluctant Readers, winner 2001 of the Arkansas Charlie May Simon Children’s Book Award, and nominee 2000 of the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award.

Brian realized slowly...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Matthew M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Genre: Adventure
Pages: 144
Brief summary: It is about a kid named Brian and he comes back from his trip from the wilderness. He comes back and he goes to school but he is not a normal kid he went to the wild stayed there he knows what is like. So he was interviewed a while back when he came home but a couple years passed by and this girl wanted to get to know him better. So they go somewhere to eat but when they do this football player really likes the girl that Brian was with so he gets mad and...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Natalie rated it 5 of 5 stars

It was about 20 years ago in school that my teacher read to us The Hatchet. It was always one of my favorite books. One that I would come back to and read occasionally as I got older.

I started re-visiting classics that were popular when I was a child. So with the power of the internet, I was able to discover, much to my surprise, that Gary Paulsen hadn’t been idle with his young character, Brian. Naturally I knew about The River, but not that fans had badgered Mr. Paulsen to write an alternative...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Amos rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brian's Return By Gary Paulen. It is the third book written by Paulsen about a boy named Brian who learned how to survive in the wild after his plane crashed. This book begins two years after he was rescued. The time period is around the 1980's. The main character is a sixteen year old boy named Brian. He lives in the city with his mom. After being alone in the wilderness for so long, he is finding it difficult to be back home in the city and around people. When Brian beats up another student w...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Josiah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think that much of what makes Brian Robeson such a compelling figure is the way that his character reflects the life and philosophy of author Gary Paulsen. Brian is an intensely autobiographical creation, and the spirit of personal independence and craving for nothing more than to just be a part of the wilderness—a craving that had its origin in the first book of his adventures, Hatchet—is clearly the heartfelt desire of Gary Paulsen played out on the page, in a situation that he has imagined...more I think that much of what makes Brian Robeson such a compelling figure is the way that his character reflects the life and philosophy of author Gary Paulsen. Brian is an intensely autobiographical creation, and the spirit of personal independence and craving for nothing more than to just be a part of the wilderness—a craving that had its origin in the first book of his adventures, Hatchet—is clearly the heartfelt desire of Gary Paulsen played out on the page, in a situation that he has imagined into being so that he can vicariously live out his own dreams of life in the wild through Brian's unique odyssey.

From what I can tell, Brian's Return is a sequel to the storyline as it runs through The River, rather than through the alternate sequel, Brian's Winter. It's not easy to tell for sure, but references in Brian's Return indicate that Brian had returned once before to the wilderness spot where it had all started with his plane crash, rather than that he had spent the winter out there alone and had learned to survive the experience of the ungodly cold, as was the case in Brian's Winter. Then again, maybe there's a way to reconcile the story so that the reader can choose to go with either sequel as the basis for Brian's Return. Is it possible that the events recorded in Brian's Winter could have actually occurred before those of The River, so that the first sequel could be brought into accord with either original storyline? Readers who have gone through all of the books about Brian will wonder about these things, and there's a lot of information to pay attention to in order to be able to mentally set it all right.

It's just not always easy to readjust to regular life after a shakeup like the one that hit Brian when the small plane he was in crashed and he became stranded on his own in the woods for so many weeks, with nothing to help him survive but a rudimentary hatchet and his own wits. Brian is back home, now, but though he has left the woods behind, the woods haven't returned the favor; he has been changed by the harrowing trials of his ordeal into a different person, and trying to get along in the "real world" as if nothing essential has changed proves to be an impossibility. After crossing a line with a violent act (albeit in self-defense) against a high school peer, Brian goes to see a counselor to help him decide what his next move should be. Caleb, a tall man built like a linebacker but with the thoughtful consideration of a philosopher, coaxes Brian to speak about what it was like living by himself in the wilderness. Having gone blind due to a freak illness several years back, Caleb can imagine the glorious outdoor settings that Brian describes with a rich intensity that eludes most other people, and the incredible tales that Brian tells open a window through which Caleb can once again experience the visual majesty of the world around himself. Caleb soon realizes that there's nothing wrong with Brian; he simply needs the wilderness, and there's nothing that can be done to take that desire out of him now that he's experienced its wonder and lived to want more of it.

With the encouragement and support of Caleb, Brian convinces his mother to let him go back again to the place where he feels he first came to understand his own soul, and live there indefinitely. The trip is not an impromptu one this time around, though, and Brian plans and plots carefully to bring along the exact kinds of equipment that he will need to subsist in the wilderness for a long time. He is going back to where it all started, and of his own volition, but this time Brian will have the tools at his disposal to have a realistic shot at dealing with whatever surprises nature has in store for him.

There is an adjustment period even for an experienced woodsman like Brian, but the real test of his ability to reassimilate to the dangerous outdoors will come when he's faced with a threat so raw and unpredictable that his response could never be tested ahead of time. Only if Brian can face down the greatest terrors of nature will he have proven his ability to become part of that nature and rise above its ever-present perils as a hunter, not becoming one of the unfortunate hunted. Will he be able to make it by himself in a world where eat or be eaten reigns as the supreme law of the land?

I sort of found myself wishing that this book were longer, and covered more of what happened after Brian made his decision to return to the wilderness that had so claimed his heart and soul. Brian's Return is a very short book, and leaves off not far into Brian's latest adventure. The story ends before his time back in the wild really has progressed far at all, and I'm sure that it left readers with a strong desire for a fifth book, a desire that would eventually be satiated with the publication of Brian's Hunt. All in all, I think that Brian's Return is a good wilderness adventure story, with even more to offer from a nonfiction standpoint of describing survival techniques and tips than the previous three Brian Robeson novels, and I believe that anyone who enjoyed those first three will definitely want to read this one. I would give two and a half stars to Brian's Return. (less)

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Aug 10, 2012 Drew Graham rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Two years after the events of Hatchet , Brian's Winter and The River , Brian is finding it difficult to adjust back to "normal" life. He's restless and discontented, he doesn't get along with his classmates, he doesn't enjoy school, and he can't stand the noise and mess and distraction of civilization. After a violent altercation with another kid from school, he meets with a counselor who is fascinated by his history and experiences, and encourages him to return to the wild to find whatever it...more Two years after the events of Hatchet , Brian's Winter and The River , Brian is finding it difficult to adjust back to "normal" life. He's restless and discontented, he doesn't get along with his classmates, he doesn't enjoy school, and he can't stand the noise and mess and distraction of civilization. After a violent altercation with another kid from school, he meets with a counselor who is fascinated by his history and experiences, and encourages him to return to the wild to find whatever it is he's looking for.

I was just a little confused at the start of this book because I didn't know if I should expect it to pick up where the second Brian book left off, or the third. Apparently, it takes place after the events of BOTH previous sequels, but in backwards order... Anyway, this all happened after the crash, the winter, and the return with Derek. It was the shortest book of the series so far, which is a surprise, but turned out to be a pretty nice one. While the first book was great, the second was good, and the third was okay, this one was pretty so-so. The writing was still nice, and it's always good to check in with Brian, but the whole thing read like a detailed list of events. There wasn't much story or plot, just a bunch of painfully laid out things that happened:

Then Brian caught a fish with a hook and a line and no bait. Then he cut it open and all the guts fell out. Then he rubbed the scales off with his knife and they all fell to the ground. Then he put it in a pot to boil. He put in about a teaspoon of salt. He liked salt. Then he put some rice in the other pot to cook. The fish would cook in fifteen minutes. The rice would cook in twenty minutes. He looked at the water. He looked at the sky. He looked at the ground. He scratched his rear.

... etc. etc. In fact, one chapter (the longest, if I recall) literally was basically a shopping list of all the many supplies he packed and his commentary on them. I guess some people might be interested in the minutiae of wilderness living, but Brian's story so far has been so compelling, it's a bummer that it turned into this boring travelogue. Also, this is the first time that I've felt the author had a chip on his shoulder about the civilized world. I understand that Brian went through a serious ordeal, and that changed him forever, but as far as he's presented in this book, he actually went insane, saw a therapist, and decided that he had to live as a hermit for the foreseeable future lest he should attack another human (thinking it was a bear) again. It also didn't help that two-thirds into the book Brian still hadn't returned, leaving the ending completely open and unfinished. I doubt it would have been published if Paulsen hadn't already had great success with his previous books. Paulsen (also probably crazy) even went out of his way in the Author's Note to say that this was the "final book about Brian" (wups: Brian's Hunt ). I liked Caleb, but he was so underused that he seemed hardly necessary. I would have liked to know more about Brian's letters to him too. The novelty is wearing off by this point, and a slight agenda is starting to surface. The woods are still beautiful and sometimes dangerous, and the human spirit is strong and epic and all, but there should be more to the story by now, if we're going to have four whole books about it.

As a side note, and I have no idea why this is, I always expect these books to be in first-person every time I sit down to read, and I have to reorient myself to the fact that I'm not actually in Brian's head. Weird.

Sorry Brian, this wasn't your finest hour. You went insane and had to return to the woods to survive. There are more kinds of survival than that in the wilderness. The love song to the woods is starting to get old. I think Paulsen should have left this as a trilogy. Still, whatever flaws this book has, it had my favorite line from the entire series so far. In what other book would you find the sentence, "Hello to you too, he peed"? No other, I say.(less)

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May 03, 2013 Roemello rated it 4 of 5 stars

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May 18, 2011 Jane Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-adventure-fiction

Very enjoyable continuation of the Brian story about survival in the wilderness. I really liked it.

STORY BRIEF:
This is a sequel to and should be read after the “Hatchet.” It is the 4th book. Books 2 and 3 are not required before reading this, although I recommend reading them in order if you like Hatchet. In Hatchet 13-year-old Brian was stranded in the Canadian wilderness for 54 days after a plane crash. It was a survival story. Now at age 15 Brian yearns to return. He doesn’t feel right living...more Very enjoyable continuation of the Brian story about survival in the wilderness. I really liked it.

STORY BRIEF:
This is a sequel to and should be read after the “Hatchet.” It is the 4th book. Books 2 and 3 are not required before reading this, although I recommend reading them in order if you like Hatchet. In Hatchet 13-year-old Brian was stranded in the Canadian wilderness for 54 days after a plane crash. It was a survival story. Now at age 15 Brian yearns to return. He doesn’t feel right living the normal life among other teens. Maybe a third or more of the book is his time among his peers and making plans to return. The rest of the story is his time in the wilderness. This time is different because he has supplies and equipment which he didn’t have in the previous books.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
I like thinking about how I live vs. how Brian lived in the wild. It’s a good perspective. It may have contributed to my desire to get rid of some of my clutter. I am reminded of a scientist who studied insects - maybe ants – I can’t remember. He said people respect nonfiction but they read fiction, which is why he wrote a fictional story about insects. At the end of Brian’s Return the author mentions his extensive personal experiences in the wild. He said he knew he wanted to eventually write about them, and that many of the scenes in the Brian books were things that actually happened to him. I’m glad he wrote in a fictional manner rather than a nonfiction/memoir. I probably wouldn’t have read that. But I loved reading these things through Brian.

I also love reading about justice and revenge. So I enjoyed the scene where a football player bully started something with Brian. But Brian won that fight.

The book is shorter than standard novels. The narrator was Peter Coyote who was excellent.

OTHER BOOKS:
The author wrote many books, but the Hatchet series consists of:
5 stars. Hatchet (read first)
5 stars. Brian’s Winter (read second or third but I prefer second)
3 stars. The River (read second or third)
4 stars. Brian’s Return
3 stars. Brian’s Hunt

DATA:
Unabridged audiobook length: 2 hrs and 26 mins. Narrator: Peter Coyote. Swearing language: none. Sexual content: none. Setting: current day upstate New York and the Canadian wilderness. Copyright: 1999. Genre: young adult adventure fiction.(less)

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Nov 17, 2011 Antonio Oreamuno is currently reading it

Time read 2 30 min
book Brians Return
author Gary Pulsen

I read that Brian was acussed of hitting a kid because Sam had pushed him. When Sam pushed him he stangely transported to the woods where he lived. In the woods there was a crazy deer trying to attack him. So Brian defended himself as he remembered. But when he was back in the resturant he noticed that Sam was all beat up and bleeding. So the owner of the resturant called the police and hey got there really quick. When they got there they go...more

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May 24, 2011 Austin Howe rated it 5 of 5 stars

After the long journey of survial in the candian forest Brian had yet had to go through the return again. He got in fihgts at school and he justed needed to go back to the wild were he belongs. HE had to survive in the wild but this time he had a few items a gun, and some other survial stuff. He also had a transmitting radio so if he ever got into a bad situation he could call for help. He also had to fight a off a bear. He thought about shooting the bear but he decided against it but it then ra...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Muhammad Salman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-2012

Brian is back in Brian's Return and he is much used to the wilderness and north and does not understand much about the city or with a lot of people. He will have a hard time blending in with others because he is used to the norther aspect of life, near the woods and more isolation. I can relate to this because I have been used to things before and when I tried new things, it became hard for me to try new things. Gary Paulsen touches the reader and grabs their attention with an important theme. T...more

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Feb 11, 2009 Wayne rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: lovers of wilderness

Recommended to Wayne by: the previous volumes

Shelves: children-s-books, americana

Having had lots of holidays in some relatively and very isolated places in Australia and so often finding the return to life in "civilisation" very hard to readapt to, I was with Brian ALL the way in this one!!!Right inside his skin.
No doubt Gary Paulsen knows exactly these feelings.A wonderful, wonderful read.
I can only say to those who were disapppointed in this book to try living for a short while in isolation at various times - and I don't necessarily mean in total discomfort and deprivatio...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Luke Albert rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Even though this is the 4th book of Hatchet Brian's Return was the best. I have read all the books except for the River. I like how Gary Paulsen wrote this book fantastically. The plot was a great adventure. After reading this book I started to like adventure. The way Gary wrote this book made me read more of his books. I liked the way he made Brian survive on his own with no food or shelter. It made the book more interesting because the he kept making Brian do different things to survive. If th...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Adam Ringeisen is currently reading it · review of another edition

1/4 well im almost done with this book i started it just before christmas break, im going to bring it home and get it done tonight. its pretty much just like the river and hatchet exept for in hachet its an accident that he in the woods, the river he goes in the woods because he thinks it will help people, in this one he goes back because he wants to, other then that the books are pretty much the same just different events happen.
1/11 well I finished my book, I thought this was one of his better...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Jake rated it 3 of 5 stars

There was really only one thing wrong with this book, and it's a pretty big problem: there was no central conflict. The first half of the book explains how Brian is trying to readjust to a normal life. The second half is him paddling down rivers and lakes for several days. That's really all this book is. For what it was, it was well-written. It was a relaxing read and it showed how much Brian has grown as a person, but it wasn't nearly as good as the previous books in the series.

I don't remember...more

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Jan 18, 2010 David Sof 2014 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 8th-grade-reading-shelf-betts

In this sequel to the book by Gary Paulson, Hatchet, Brian has many conflicts in the " real world " He started to have different interests, and realized his life belongs in the wild. Guns. Brian hated them. He hates people who kills animal for trophies or victory, he uses bows, and believe only to hunt animals to protect, or to survive.

I can kind of connect to this book. Sometimes, I'm just different then usual. I start to don't like interests i use to like, and do with my friends. I feel pull b...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Shay Nelson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure

It has been two years since brian has been in the forest by himself and he kind of misses it in the woods because it is quiet and you can see the stars at night. Brian is in school and it is really close to the end of the school year and brian beats up a kid because the kid beat him up. His mom thinks he needs to go to a counciler so brian's mom pays for a councilar. The counciler and brian dont talk about emotions and stuff the counciler ask's brian to tell him what it was like. the counciler s...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Melinda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-college

I recently reread "Hatchet" and "Brian's Winter," having first read them in elementary school. Of the Brian series, this is the only book I never finished in elementary school, and I discovered today, by surprise, that I have a copy of it on my bookshelf. So I sat down and read it. It isn't my favorite — it's not as engaging as "Hatchet" and "Brian's Winter" (I can't speak for "The River," since I haven't reread it recently), and the excerpts of the letters to Caleb and the bits about Shakespear...more

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Mar 21, 2012 Dallon rated it 4 of 5 stars

In this book, Brian Robeson, just can not live the high school life. He wants to get back to the woods were he thinks he belongs. All the characters in this book are mostly just him. He is alone in the woods most of the time just like the first book. There is really no bad language or nothing in this book. It's pretty clean. In my eyes I did enjoy this book as i did the very first one, Hatchet. It makes you want to just keep reading and see what happens next. The part that really stuck out to me...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Jocelyn Favela rated it 5 of 5 stars

From the first of Brian's adventures to the last, Brian's Return has stood out to me. This story, in my opinion, has not only vented more of Gary Paulsen's true life adventures through Brian, but has also given away more about his emotions then any other book. Although speaking more of the book in general I can in every honest means conclude that this book may have been the most interesting book I have read in my life. There in that one story there is everything you would expect from an adventur...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Johnny Chen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Brian's Return was an alright book that contained numerous amounts of sensory details but the only thing that made me not like this book as much as I should have was that there wasn't a very BIG conflict. I wasn't very into this book,since I haven't read the first three books of the series; which is pretty dumb of me. So throughout the book I was practically lost. One thing that I liked about the book was the sensory details it contained, it made the book very visualizing and made it a little mo...more

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Jan 17, 2011 Joseph Park rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 10th-grade-o-o

Brian's Return is a sequel to the Hatchet novels. Brian talks to a therapist and he tells Brian to return, which he does. Brian has never been the same since his first visit to the wild, and now he doesn't seem to fit into his old self. Brian has changed, and now he goes back, rebuilding his wildlife experience. I didn't like this book very much because it was basically, one day he makes a fire and eats fish. Next day, he finds fish and eats it with tea. It's just too repetitive. I would only re...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Shaeley Santiago rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, young-adult

After getting into a serious fight with a guy from school, Brian begins seeing a counselor. The counselor helps him realize what's wrong is that he misses the wilderness. So Brian convinces his mother to let him go back to the woods for the summer. This time, Brian takes a journal with him and writes letters describing his experience to send back to his counselor friend.

The book contains a nice quote from Romeo & Juliet that was perfect for a read aloud to my class which was studying Shakesp...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Anna Nastasi rated it 1 of 5 stars

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Oct 31, 2011 Anne Osterlund rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brian has been back in the world for two years, but nothing is right. Not the sounds, or the foods, or the football player who attacked him. And especially not the way Brian reacted to that attack.

How he put that guy in the hospital.

Something is missing in Brian. He doesn’t know what, but he knows WHERE it is. In the north. The woods.

He needs to return.

Brian’s Return is the fourth of five novels in the Hatchet series. Not a wild crazy climax, but a smooth, gentle build toward perfection. As Bria...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Heidi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-book-challenge, 2010-ya-book-challenge, audio, fiction, series, ya-12-19, adventure-survival

I think I've grown out of the Brian phase, as I did not connect to this book the way I did with the first two. The narration of the audio was fine. And it was interesting returning to nature and a couple of his adventures. But, I just didn't find this one fabulous. Honestly, I think deep down I've known I was no longer in the Brian phase. But I felt that the books were all pretty short and I might as well finish the series. I think this is still a great choice for those who cannot get enough of...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, nature-slash-the-wilderness

As readers of "Hatchet," "The River," and "Brian's Winter" know, thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson survived in the Canadian wilderness for months after his plane crashed in the woods. Now he's back in civilization, but things just don't feel right. He finds that modern society overwhelms and overstimulates him now. Before long, he's yearning for the forest. At the advice of his therapist--a blind man who is the one person who understands Brian's "homesickness"--Brian heads back out for a canoe tri...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Jelinas rated it 2 of 5 stars

The Lakers recently acquired Jason Kapono, a former Bruin who was, at one point, the most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history. So what happened? He got more playing time is what happened. While Kapono is undoubtedly one of the best three-point shooters in the game, it's just common sense that, the more shots you take, the harder it'll get for you to maintain that percentage.

This is kind of what happens to Gary Paulsen with Brian's Return, the fourth book about Brian Robeson. Paulsen is a...more The Lakers recently acquired Jason Kapono, a former Bruin who was, at one point, the most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history. So what happened? He got more playing time is what happened. While Kapono is undoubtedly one of the best three-point shooters in the game, it's just common sense that, the more shots you take, the harder it'll get for you to maintain that percentage.

This is kind of what happens to Gary Paulsen with Brian's Return, the fourth book about Brian Robeson. Paulsen is a prolific writer, with over 200 titles to his name, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all of his works are of the same quality. Like even the best professional basketball player, if you take too many shots, you're bound to miss a few.

Brian Robeson has survived a plane crash and being stuck in the woods alone for a long time. This book deals with Brian's attempt to reassimilate into civilized life, which ends with Brian seriously injuring a boy who picks a fight with him at a pizza parlor. Forced to see a psychologist after this violent act of self-protection, he realizes that he misses the wild, and decides to take a trip back into the woods.

Whereas the series' first book, Hatchet, focused on Brian's struggle simply to stay alive and adapt in the forest, Brian's Return is filled with an affected air of mystery surrounding Brian's inexplicable and irresistible connection with Nature. And I write "Nature" as a proper noun because that's how Paulsen treats nature in this book, as though it's a deity with whom Brian has a nebulous relationship. The whole "Mother Earth" vibe of this book made me keep rolling my eyes. Brian goes from a hardy kid who'll never say die to a pretentious, sanctimonious tree-hugger who somehow has this mysterious connection with Nature after having lived in the woods for a mere three years.

If Paulsen had focused a little more on the survival side of the story instead of Brian's mystical ear for hearing the pleas of Mother Earth, the book might've been more compelling. And the whole psychologist storyline was very "House," Season Six. In fact, I was picturing Andre Braugher in my head in the role of Caleb the Psychologist. Meh.

But don't get me wrong. I actually really like Gary Paulsen. I think a lot of his books are solid (especially the original Hatchet and his semi-autobiographical The Cook Camp, and anything he's ever written about dogsledding). It's just that this one was an airball. But I'm sure that Paulsen's already jogging downcourt, waiting patiently for another shot opportunity.(less)

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Nov 02, 2012 Macey Schoenick rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked reading this book a lot because I enjoy the outdoors like Brian. Brian Robenson survived living on his own when his plane crashed in the book "Hatchet", when Brian goes back home and realizes civilazation doesn't really fit who he is. Brian talks to his school counselor and lets out how he is feeling, the counselor enjoys listening to Brian talk and tells stories when and how he survived being in the wilderness the first time. Brian wants to return back to the wilderness. Brian wants to...more

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About Gary Paulsen

Although he was never a dedicated student, Paulsen developed a passion for reading at an early age. After a librarian gave him a book to read--along with his own library card--he was hooked. He began spending hours alone in the basement of his apartment building, reading one book after another.

Running away from home at the age of 14 and traveling with a carnival, Paulsen acquired a taste for adve...more

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“...You can take the man out of the woods, but you can't take the woods out of the man.” — 6 people liked it

“This is the final book about Brian” — 4 people liked it

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