This Newberry Honor book written by Gary Paulsen is the story of thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson. He is on his way to visit his father in the Canadian wilderness when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes in the remote woods. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him-- he also carries with him the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parents'divorce. Now Brian has no time for anger, self-pity or despair. It will take all of his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.