Haidyn Funair's Book Report on "The River"

Name: Haidyn Funair

Title of Book: “The River”

Author: Gary Paulsen

What was the problem in the book, and how was it solved? Be specific.

Brian and Derek the main characters, were stuck out in the wilderness, by a lake stranded with

no survival equipment, while Derek was in a coma.  Derek had been hit by a lightning bolt one

night while they were trying to survive, causing Derek to go into a temporary coma. So he had

to take care of both himself and Derek.  Brian had to debate whether to stay and wait for help to

come, or go to help. He then decided to go to help by floating on a makeshift raft with an almost

lifeless corpse 120 miles downstream to a trading post.  They eventually makes it to the trading

post, but it was a long, tiring trip. Derek woke up from his coma about 2 weeks later, and thanked

Brian sincerely for taking care of him. A couple weeks after that, Brian got a dugout canoe in the

mail.  It was from Derek as a gift for saving his life.

What was the author's purpose or purposes in writing the book? Explain how you know.

This book is to entertain because the author uses fictional characters, a fictional setting and

fictional events, but these events could possibly happen.  That is why it is realistic fiction.

What did the title have to do with the book?

Brian and Derek had to travel down  a 120 mile river to get to a trading post down stream.  

So the title “The River” is associated with the river that Brian and Derek had to travel down.  

That is why the title is “The River.”

Tell in your own words how the setting of the story made it more interesting. Be specific.

The setting made it more interesting because they were in a survival situation during a major

thunderstorm, with no survival gear except for what they were wearing.  ( I love survival stories)

If one of the characters visited our classroom, what question would you ask them? (Make sure the question relates to the plot/problem/actions of the story.) *Give the name of the character with the question!!*

I would say ,“ Brian, how did you manage to make it 120 miles downstream on a makeshift raft

while taking care of both yourself and Derek while he was in a coma?”

Pretend you are a librarian recommending the book to someone. Write a paragraph telling what you would say.

If I were to be a librarian recommending this book to someone I would say many things about it.

 I would start by saying that this book is about two people (a young gentlemen about 26 and another

about 16) out in the wilderness, with no survival equipment, trying to survive.  They were doing fine

at first until one night the older guy gets struck by lightning and goes into a coma. They have to go

120 miles downstream to a trading post, on a makeshift raft just to get help.  They eventually make

it and about 3 weeks later he wakes up and thanks the younger boy sincerely for saving his life. I

would also say that I would highly recommend this book because it is very interesting and passes

time quickly.  (basically my summary)

If they made a movie of this book, which scene would be most important to include. Explain the

scene with details and why it's important.The scene that would be the most important to put in the

movie would probably be when Derek gets struck by lightning.  I think it would be very important

because that is what started all their trouble and pain they had to go through.