Mr. Mitchell was small for his age when he was young and got picked on by bullies at school, so he understands what Darrell is going through. He describes two ways to deal with it: working on external strength through sports and exercise or working on internal strength by developing resilience—the ability to keep moving forward no matter what. Darrell is curious about how to develop mental toughness, so Mr. Mitchell recommends that he read the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Darrell isn’t sure how this will help, but he takes the book.

Over Thanksgiving break, Darrell reads Hatchet and grows invested in teen protagonist Brian’s efforts to survive in the wilderness after a plane crash. During Thanksgiving dinner, he forgets about Tyray and enjoys his family. Uncle Jason makes comments about Darrell’s appetite, hoping his new hunger signifies a growth spurt.

Darrell finishes Hatchet and thinks about how Brian transforms into a man after experiencing such hardship, but nothing in the story seems to tell Darrell how to develop the mental strength Mr. Mitchell described.