I listened to this on audiobook, but it's a quick read - large font, several pictures, only two CDs (about 2.5hrs) on audio.

I've read Hatchet, but not the other Brian books, but I don't think that was the draw of the book for me. Gary Paulsen is a good storyteller, period, whether the story is his own life experience or a modified version of that acted out by a fictional boy named Brian. As an occasional writer and teacher, I appreciated Paulsen's attentiveness in connecting is his own experiences with the scenes in his books. Showing the kids that ordinary life can make for exciting writing is a point that is very effectively driven home in this book.