The Skeleton Tree

Nearly all modern middle grade survival novels owe tribute to Hatchet by Gary Paulson. In Hatchet, young Brian’s plane crashes in the remote Canadian wilderness, and he’s left with only the hatchet his mother gifted him to survive for months alone while trying to process grief over his parents’ divorce. Similarly, The Skeleton Tree follows a boy stranded after an accident and grappling with loss. The novels share themes of human-versus-nature and character growth in the face of adversity. Both Brian and Chris struggle with the loss of their father, but more important than losing him is losing the idea that he was good. Left without a father, a role model, or an example, the boys must design a version of manhood for themselves based on their own experiences surviving in nature.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell is another survival classic. This novel follows Karana, a young Indigenous American girl stranded on an island off the coast of California. Like Karana, Chris in The Skeleton Tree must learn to forage, fish, and survive off the land. These novels share themes of self-reliance, facing one’s fears, and self-actualization.

In both Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins, children are thrust toward adulthood out of necessity. Their inexperience and inability fade given their curiosity, creativity, and willingness to learn. These young children survive in the wild and grow to adulthood prepared to face a life that is difficult and complex. In a survival narrative, the characters must learn to survive their own trauma before they can survive the wild. The battle is always two-fold: The external, human-versus-nature battle depends on winning an internal battle. In all of these examples, humans do not conquer nature but rather prevent nature from conquering them and find peace in the natural order of the wilderness.