The Bear

The Bear  by Claire Cameron – 208 pages

ARC from Little, Brown and Company

While camping with her family on a remote island, five-year-old Anna awakes in the night to the sound of her mother screaming. A rogue black bear, 300 pounds of fury, is attacking the family’s campsite, pouncing on her parents as prey.

At her dying mother’s faint urging, Anna manages to get her brother into the family’s canoe and paddle away. But when the canoe dumps the two children on the edge of the woods, and the sister and brother must battle hunger, the elements, and a dangerous wilderness, we see Anna’s heartbreaking love for her family–and her struggle to be brave when nothing in her world seems safe anymore.

Told in the honest, raw voice of five-year-old Anna, this is a riveting story of love, courage, and survival.

Any book compared to Room by Emma Donoghue will get my attention. Sadly, that’s all it got, because even me, the self-proclaimed Good Book Fairy, couldn’t finish this book. The idea of this story was captivating, but it was the execution that fell short. I didn’t feel like this was a five-year-old’s voice as sometimes she seemed much older versus at times much, much younger. Perhaps I had too high of an expectation for this book so that led to quicker disappointment.