The River Book Review

This book takes place in modern times. It happens in New York City, the woods, the river, and then the trading post. The main character is Brian Robeson, a 15-year old boy who survived in the wilderness for a long time with only a hatchet. There is also Derek, who is a survival psychologist. The problem is that Derek falls into a coma, the radio is destroyed, and Brian is stuck in the wilderness. The solution is that they go to the trading post on a raft.

In the plot some government survival experts come to Brian's house and ask if Brian will go back to the wilderness to allow them to learn something about how his brain worked to keep him alive. They negotiate, and Brian agrees to go. Then Brian leaves with Derek to a location where they will live. They land, but Brian makes them leave almost all of the survival equipment that they had brought in the plane, because it would ruin the results of the experiment.

Then they find berries, and then Brian finds flint. They also make fire. Brian thinks that it is too easy and wants there to be more tension. Then there is a lightning storm and Derek is struck by lightning. He is in a coma, and the radio they brought is destroyed. Brian is planning what to do, but he tried to feed Derek and learned that it didn't work because Derek will choke on it. Derek won't last long if they don't leave, and on the map there is a trading post 100 miles away with a river that goes there from where they are.

Then Brian decides to go down there on a raft. He makes the raft and then sets off into the river, but takes some weapons with him. On the trip he gets good at controlling the raft, but starts to hallucinate very often. Then he sees some inaccuracies in the map and wonders if there even is a trading post. He keeps going. Then he hears a sound like a waterfall. He then sees that the waterfall is actually a narrow pass in the river with very violent and fast waters. He goes through it, but falls off of the raft. He is knocked out and wakes up to realize that both the raft and Derek went upstream. He then swims after the raft and Derek. He finally reaches the raft and Derek, who is nearly dead. He keeps going, and may or may not make it. Read the book to find out (or read the spoiler below).

SPOILER: DON'T READ IF YOU ARE GOING TO READ THE ACTUAL BOOK!!!!!!!!

Here is the spoiler that will ruin the whole story for you. Brian survives and reaches the trading post where people find him. Everybody fully recovers.