The Riveting River

    In the book The River there are many different characters but none are quite as intriguing and complex as Brian. Brian is a especially unique character because in the prequel to this novel, Brian is forced to survive in the Canadian wilderness after his plane crashes leaving him as the only survivor. In this book, Brian is again asked to return to the wilderness by the government to teach a psychologist named Derek to survive for the sake of others in the same situation. This grueling experience Brian has in the prequel changes many things about his personality which makes him a unique and interesting character to follow.

    Brian's experience in the wilderness caused him to become hyper-aware of his surroundings, always looking for food and in the process became and expert cook. Even after he returned he often had nightmares of his time in the wilderness and kept the same attentive mindset he had in the woods for many months after. His mindset also later caused him appreciate things in the artificial world more and gave him terrifying flashbacks of his everyday struggle to survive. I think this thought of Brian, a young teenager forced to fend for himself in the woods for a long period of time, demonstrated how Brian matured faster, and in some ways was an adult by the end of his first time in the woods. I think this is the case because becoming an adult entails responsibility and having provide for yourself just as Brian did. Brian being treated as an adult is shown when he is consulted by the government as though he was adult and his mother granting him more responsibility are a couple other reasons that demonstrate his early transition to adulthood. This makes Brian a very complex and unique character as few children are forced to have that experience, that changes their emotions and the way they see the world. Brian's uniqueness consistently proves to make him an interesting main character with interesting viewpoints of events that unfold in the story.

    Brian's bravery and initiative in the book is one of his most prominent characteristics. When Brian is prompted to help teach others to survive in the same kind of situation he did, he immediately agrees although he has a internal conflict with returning to the wilderness after his first time surviving there. His bravery as well as his initiative is also shown just before Brian is left to the wilderness for the second time he decides the only way to authentically relive his wilderness survival experience is without supplies and convinces Derek to leave them behind. Although Brian's bravery in this decision is admirable it later leads him to a deadly situation where the life of his partner Derek is put at risk. Brian's initiative in this situation leads to a riveting and intense journey to save his friend's life.

    One style and structural element of the book that I find intriguing is the suspense that the author adds to the book by making everything appear to be going smoothly apart from a few rough situations that Brian and Derek eventually overcome. The suspense builds up more and more throughout the book as the reader essentially realizes that their wilderness expedition is going too smoothly. As the suspense builds, the story eventually reaches the climax, at which point the reader is greeted by an entirely empty page apart from the center that simply restates the title; The River, as though the entirety of the story was building up to that point. 

    All in all, I highly recommend this book to all readers for each of these reasons reasons if they are looking for an exciting story detailing the survival of a young adult against all odds that is an engaging and entertaining reading experience.