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The book begins with thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson flying as a passenger in a bush plane from Hampton, New York. He is on his way to spend the summer with his father in the Canadian wilderness-his parents got divorced, something which has taken a toll on Brian. As he gets angry thinking about it, Brian attempts to distract himself by looking around the plane.

When Brian sys no, he clarifies that flying is not as hard as it seems, and offers to let him take the controls for a moment. Brian strives, and realizes that he is ready to steer the plane easily.

The court had determined that Brian would spend the summers with his father, and also the college with his mother . His father is working at the oil areas of Canada, and Brian is flying up on the plane along with some equipment that his father would need for his work. His mother drove him from the town to catch the plane, and gave him a gift to utilize that summertime: a hatchet. It is recognized by Brian, but can do nothing, because within moments the pilot is invisibly with his eyes rolled back in his head. Brian knows he is either dead or in certain condition close to a coma-either way, Brian Robeson is alone in a plane full of the atmosphere.

For a while he does nothing, stunned, and then realizes that he has to fly the plane somehow. He attempts to call out for assistance on the microphone and gets a response, however, the signal fades out and Brian cannot provide his location or flight number. Brian starts panicking, realizing he is going to die. As the plane keeps going down he spots a L-shaped lake and attempts to steer the plane towards it. It sinks down into the lake and Brian swims out of it, desperately trying to make this up to the surface. The first chapter begins with Brian flying at the plane, rather than creating up to the incident that'll pave the way for the rest of the story.

By neglecting to reveal readers any piece of Brian's life before the plane crash-we can only rely on his stories and thoughts with this information-Paulsen reveals what is really important to this story. Along these lines, the first few chapters of the novel tell us much more about the family life of Brian whenever they do about Brian himself. This extreme focus on his family circumstances shows what things to Brian when he is in the real universenevertheless, once he is in the forest, he has to abandon this attention on extraneous things and concentrate only instead on himself and his survival.

Without the pilot, and without either of his parents, Brian will need to grow up. In the practice of creating these decisions, Brian will achieve a level of maturity that he had never before. Based on the initial 3 chapters, Brian is all up to the struggle. His quick thinking-flying the plane, utilizing the radio, directing the crashing plane towards the lake-has served him well, and also this resourcefulness will continue to be important over the course of the story. These chapters introduce us to Brian, but to another important part of this story: the hatchet. Brian's mother handing him the hatchet to utilize for the summer foreshadows the events to come, when a hatchet will be the most valuable tool he might have. With his hatchet in hand, Brian will confront the reality of having to fend for himself, but with this one crucial tool from his life at his side.

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