Paulsen's staccato, repetitive style conveys Brian's stress his combination of third-person narrative with Brian's interior monologue pulls the reader into the story. Plausible, taut, this is a spellbinding account. His mixed feelings surprise him when the plane finally surfaces so that he can retrieve the survival pack and then he's rescued. He also battles despair and emerges more patient, prepared to learn from his mistakes-when a rogue moose attacks him and a fierce storm reminds him of his mortality, he's prepared to make repairs with philosophical persistence. In time, he builds a shelter, experiments with berries, finds turtle eggs, starts a fire, makes a bow and arrow to catch fish and birds, and makes peace with the larger wildlife. His injuries prove painful but not fundamental. The plane sinks all he has left is a hatchet, attached to his belt.
In a breathtaking sequence, Brian maneuvers the plane for hours while he tries to think what to do, at last crashing as gently and levelly as he can manage into a lake. After casually showing him how to steer, the pilot has a heart attack and dies.
In transit between his divorcing parents, Brian is the plane's only passenger. A prototypical survival story: after an airplane crash, a 13-year-old city boy spends two months alone in the Canadian wilderness.
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