The River (Paulsen)
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The River is a 1991 young adult novel by Gary Paulsen. It takes place two years after the book Hatchet.
Brian Robeson spent several months surviving alone in the Canadian wilderness after a plane accident. Now the government has asked him to do it again: live in the woods with no tools, surviving only by his wits, so the military can learn his survival techniques.
Though reluctant at first, Brian eventually agrees. Accompanied by a government psychologist named Derek, the two set off for a remote Canadian location. Though the government insisted they take emergency supplies, Brian insists they abandon everything but a pocket knife and an emergency radio. It would be impossible to eat bugs and sleep in the rain when you know there's a tent and a crate of food just waiting for you.
Things take a grim turn when their camp is struck by lightning, which knocks Derek into a coma and destroys the radio. Knowing that Derek will die of dehydration long before anyone finds them, Brian must bring him back to civilization. He constructs a raft, in a desperate bid to bring Derek down the river to medical help.
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