The River

Paulsen, Gary. The River. 2008. 2 hours 31 minutes. ISBN 978-0-7393-8618-7. Available as an audiobook on Moultonborough Overdrive.

Fifteen-year old Brian Robeson is a typical teenager, except for one glaring characteristic: two years ago, he survived alone 54 days in the wilderness when the plane he was in crashed in the Canadian north. For a while Brian did the talk show circuit and was featured prominently on the news, but now his notoriety has finally died down. Brian still feels lost, however. It is impossible to relate to the world he lives in with the experience he acquired, and he really can’t talk to anyone about it.

Now, however, the U.S. government hopes Brian would be willing to do it all over again so that Derek, a psychologist who serves on the team that designs survival courses for the military, can accompany him and document the conditions of survival in the wilderness. Basically, Derek wants Brian to relive his experience. Brian shocks his mother when he readily agrees. He needs to do this, to share this experience with someone else so that he can finally talk about it.

Upon arrival to another lake a hundred miles away from his first stay, Brian tells Derek that they cannot have any of the gear they brought with them on the float plane because it won’t be real. Derek agrees, but convinces Brian to at least keep the radio. At first, everything goes well. They build a shelter, get a fire going, and find enough food to satisfy their hunger. On the third night, however, Derek is struck by lightning and falls into a coma. Brian now faces a dilemma. He can stay here and home that Derek recovers, because the radio itself has also been fried by the bolt of electricity. Or he can get Derek on a raft and navigate the river that comes out of the lake for what seemed on the map to be about 120 miles until the first trading post. Brian decides to attempt to save Derek’s life, and he builds a raft. But now, he must face the elements once again on his own in a race against time….

A companion story to Hatchet, The River will keep survivalists riveted to the edge of their seats as they watch Brian’s progress or lack thereof down the river.