His days are filled with hunting, gathering wood, and doing what it takes to survive. When Brian realizes winter is quickly approaching, he knows to survive the winter he must have shelter, warmer clothes, and food. Brian begins to make preparations for the coming of freezing weather. Brian must also survive encounters with many wild animals, such as wolves, bears, elks, and even a skunk. While many things go wrong, Brian continues to learn from his surroundings, and uses that knowledge to survive.

Readers will find Brian creative and his adventures in the wild fun to read. While this book will probably be mostly enjoyed by boys, it can be enjoyed by girls, too. The best recommendation I can give, perhaps comes from my 13 year old son, who rarely reads for enjoyment. He only reads when the book totally captures him. He picked up Brian's Winter while stuck in the backseat of the car during a two hour trip and began to read it. He kept saying, "Mom, this book is really good!" I had to make him give me the book, so I could get it read and reviewed for a class assignment. That tells me this is a book that is worth reading and is an excellent book to keep in my classroom library.


Survival of the Fittest   October 2, 2000
 9 out of 13 found this review helpful

In Brian's Winter, Paulsen does as many of his fans requested--leaves Brian in the harsh Canadian wilderness for the duration of the winter instead of rescued at the end of the summer as in Hatchet. Brian's survival instincts are already honed when Brian's Winter opens, but as the weather gets cooler and then colder, Brian realizes that he has to totally change the way that he has been surviving. He needs warm clothes, a way to build a fire inside of his shelter, and meat for the winter. The way that city boy Brian copes with these and other survival problems will captivate you and leave you admiring his resourcefulness. Although the book was written with adolescent males in mind, I found the book a page-turner and could not wait to see how it ended! It is great reading and I cannot wait to read the other Brian novels.


Brian's Winter, a wonderful book.   January 15, 2001
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

I first heard about Brian's Winter when my teacher gave every student a copy the day before winter break. I am not a very bookish person, so I only read books that I tremendously like from the first chapter. This book was one of the rare books that captivated me on the first page. Without warning, Brian was involved in a horrible plane crash. He sustained no injuries, and afterwards he also survived on the isolated lake grounds for a very long time. I was very interested in all of Brian's weapons, his Native American ways of survival, and his hunting skills. I had tried reading Hatchet but it didn't really interest me. A good strategy to get yourself reading more is to read the second book in a series to get all the excitment right away, then read the first in the series. I was really impressed by Brian's way of survival in the wilderness. It was very suspenseful and exciting when Brian had to put up somewhat of a fight against some of his larger prey. I just couldn't put the book down. I admired Brian's way of life so much, that now one of my favorite things to do is to hunt rabbits and set traps for birds. In conclusion, Brian's Winter was filled with excitement, suspense, and emotion.


Brian's Winter By Gary Paulsen   November 15, 2001
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Have you ever been stranded in the middle of nowhere, in the winter? Brains was stranded for more than 54 days, and no one had found him yet, so Brian knew now that he is going to be there for a while. Brian is worried, he has only some food and he knows that it will only last for some of the time. Well Brian didn't want that to happen, so he got out his hunting tools and went hunting. He got some more food for the winter, and then he was all set. He had a sleeping bag, pots, pans, silverware, matches to start fires, and of course food. I wonder if Brian will survive. Ladies and gentlemen I invite and encourage you to read the book "Brian's Winter, By: Gary Paulsen".
One thing I dislike about the book was when; he found out in the beginning that he wasn't going to be found for a while. Then he thought on how it was going to be winter very soon! If I was he I would be worried too just like him. Something I liked about the book was at the end when he was found. A lot of times when I read books I am always anxious to see what is going to happen in the book, how it is going to end up. When I was reading "Brian's Winter" I was so anxious to see what was going to happen. All of these events were happening and it was really exciting for me to read this book.
I would describe Brian, different than other people. Brian is determined, courageous, and smart. He is determined because he has a goal to live through this winter and he is determined to meet his goal. Also Brian is courageous. He has lived this long out there, and hasn't given up by being scared or any thing. Finally he is also smart. In the book "Hatchet" (the book before "Brian's Winter") he was smart when he was stranded there he didn't know how to start a fire. He tried rubbing sticks together; rocks together, and it wouldn't work. He got so mad he threw the rocks at the tree and they made some sparks. He hit them on the tree again and they made sparks, then Brian got an idea. When he hit the rocks again and put some wood where the sparks were going to land. He was hoping so much that it would work, but it didn't work. Then Brian thought and he remembered that he has a twenty-dollar bill in his pocket and it was his last hope. So as you can see Brian is very smart. I thought this book "Brian's Winter By: Gary Paulsen", was excellent. I hope you read it and enjoy it.


One of my all-time favorites.   April 18, 2002
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

This book is the sequel to Hatchet. Back in the woods with Brian. Now he must prepare for his worst nightmare, WINTER IS COMING!!! He doesn't know what to do. So he starts to catch rabbits and make vests, coats, boots to keep warm. He makes a better shelter to survive the blizzardous winter, etc. Buy the sequel to the hit, HATCHET!