The+River

The River by Gary Paulsen
This story is about a teenage boy named Brian who survived in the wilderness. Some men from a government survival school come to visit Brian. They want to learn how to survive in the wilderness. They ask Brian to go back to the wilderness and train other people how to survive. At first Brian did not believe them. He agreed to do it.

Brian got into a plane and went back to the wilderness with Derek, one of the three men from the government survival school. They got dropped off by a lake. They only had a briefcase with a pencil and paper in it, a walkie talkie, and they each had a knife. They made a shelter and they looked for food.

Then one night Brian woke up in the middle of a thunderstorm. They both got struck by lightning! Brian was okay but Derek went into a coma. Brian decided that he needed to get Derek to help. If he didn't Derek would die.

Brian remembered that there was a trading post under 100 miles up river. He wanted to take Derek there so that he could get him help. Brian made a raft out of wood. He needed a tool because he didn't have his hatchet. He used a knife instead of his hatchet. Brian pulled Derek down to the water. He dragged Derek onto the raft and tied him down so he would not fall off and drown.