“When I set out to write the Brian books I was concerned that everything that happened to Brian should be based on reality, or as near reality as fiction could be. I did not want him to do things that wouldn't or couldn't really happen in his situation. Consequently I decided to write only of things that had happened to me or things I purposely did to make certain they would work for Brian.”

This was a really great companion piece to the Brian series from Gary Paulsen and I think it brought a lot of really crucial insight into the character of Brian throughout the books. I think the quote above is the most important aspect and piece of information of this book, and I think that’s why the five books that follow the story of Brian feel so realistic and so grounded in reality. It’s because they are reality, of course, there’s dramatization involved, but for the most part, everything that happens in the books happened to Gary Paulsen. I think that if you’ve read the Brian series, or even Hatchet for that matter, this offers some fascinating stories and insight from the author.