Brian, on the way to spend the summer with his dad, is the sole survivor of a small plane crash. There he is, alone in the Canadian wilderness, a city kid with no survival skills, and a hatchet. Don't ask me why he has the hatchet. It's a present from his mum. No, I don't understand it either. But that's not the point. Of course he's rescued in the end, but that's not the point either. No, what this story's about is transformation - turning into something else, developing in a way that fits your environment. Brian rather realistically makes mistake after mistake, and some of those mistakes nearly kill him, but he perseveres and thinks and learns, finds a way not only to adapt to his environment but to appreciate that adaptation, and to see the value in the close relationship he's building (albeit by necessity) with the natural world. It's an appreciation story as much as a survival one, and I like that.