<Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> The River </Td> </Tr> <P> Hatchet is a 1987 Newbery Honor - winning young - adult wilderness survival novel written by American writer Gary Paulsen . It is the first novel of five in the Hatchet series . </P> <P> Brian Robeson is a thirteen - year - old son of divorced parents . As he travels from Hampton, New York on a Cessna 406 bush plane to visit his father in the oil fields in Northern Canada for the summer, the pilot suffers a massive heart attack and dies . Brian tries to land the plane, but ends up crash - landing into a lake in the forest . He must learn to survive on his own with nothing but his hatchet--a gift his mother gave him shortly before his plane departed . </P> <P> Throughout the summer, Brian learns how to survive in the vast wilderness with only his hatchet . He discovers how to make fire with the hatchet and eats whatever food he can find, such as rabbits, birds, turtle eggs, fish, berries, and fruit . He deals with various threats of nature, including mosquitos, quail, a porcupine, bear, skunk, moose, wolves, and even a tornado . Over time, Brian develops his survival skills and becomes a fine woodsman . He crafts a bow, arrows, and a fishing spear to aid in his hunting . He also fashions a shelter out of the underside of a rock overhang . During his time alone, Brian struggles with memories of home and the bittersweet memory of his mother, whom Brian had caught cheating on his father prior to their divorce . </P>

Where was brian going in the book hatchet