Brian's Return by Gary Paulsen
Brian's Return
by Gary Paulsen
(Audio)
I didn't like this book as much as the first three. The first one is definitely my favorite... this one just seemed like an excuse to get Brian back in the wilderness so the author could tell us some other cool things you can do in the wilderness. It's true that Brian's mental state has changed due to his experiences being stranded on an island, but I just didn't buy him suddenly fighting with kids at school. He seems too nice in book 2 and too aware of living things in book 3 to suddenly contribute to disharmony in any environment. I didn't mind the idea of him wanting to return to the wilderness, it was the fighting that I didn't buy.
So much of this book was Brian just getting back to the wilderness. By the time he got there, the book was practically over. What I liked about the first two books was the completely unexpected and Brian having to use his wits to overcome things he hasn't anticipated. He's suddenly a serious outdoorsman in this one, suddenly knowledgeable about everything because he's read a lot of books and bought the proper equipment. There are little things that pop up that challenge him, but nothing significant, nothing that blew my mind or impressed me like the other books. Then the book was just over.
The audiobook was followed by a note from Gary Paulsen. I hadn't realized he had practically lived like Brian for years with his family, out in the wilderness. After learning that and how the "real world" drove him crazy, the books were somehow far less awesome to me. Brian felt to me like the author was just living out that part of himself in these stories. And while I wouldn't mind that if the character and story were good, they were both really blah to me during this book. I wish I'd stopped reading after book 3. Plus, the author swears at the end of this book that he will never write another Brian book and I had the fifth book in my car, ready to go after this, so his promise was empty! lol It was certainly interesting to hear that he's now a vegetarian. Interesting :-)