After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

"Hatchet" concludes with Brian Robeson's rescue from the wilderness. "But what if Brian hadn't been rescued? What if Brian had been left to confront his deadliest enemy -- winter?" -- Publisher's text.

Bronx middle-grader Addy, who struggles with a family tragedy by drawing maps and studying mazes, joins other city youngsters on a wilderness adventure in California that turns deadly when wildfires erupt.

When the plane carrying the Junior Action News Team crash lands in Alaska, the group must try to stay alive in the wilderness.