Two sisters. An ailing mother. A giant bear. San Juan Island. Somehow, these all came together in a beautiful story that I won't soon forget. I loved this author's first book, Disappearing Earth, and this one is just as good. It read almost like a thriller, but had the depth and character study of a timeless classic. It's a story of family, sisterhood, grief, and home. I loved it so much.

This was an odd book. In some ways, it was tender and heartwarming. In others, it was horrifying and savage. Much like the ending! I both saw it coming and had no clue! This book was wonderful in how much it confused me and made my view of the story feel unstable. Amazing characters and great writing!

Bear made me think a lot. It’s a very quiet book exploring the relationship of 2 sisters and how a bear at their doorstep (literally) disrupts their lives. There’s not a ton of action, but I still found it very compelling. Both sisters were relatable and also totally frustrating. I want to recommend so I can get other reader’s take on it. It’s a slower pace, but enjoyable. Thank you Random House Publishing Group for the ARC through NetGallery.

I was excited to read this title, as I loved Disappearing Earth. As that was more a series of loosely interconnected short stories, I was interested in how Phillips would fare writing a singular narrative novel.

I must say that as a person with a background in biology, I found various aspects of the story to be frustrating. I think that a good portion of the book relies on the reading having a lot of sympathy for Elena, but her inability to be reasoned with didn't reflect poorly on Sam, but rather Elena.

The end of the book picks up for me; I really enjoyed Sam's arc of thought and her reckoning with her relationship with her sister, however I'm not sure enough was established in the beginning of the book for this reveal about Elena's views of the future to work for me.

Ultimately, I think this book ironically would have stronger without the bear. It's a plot device that I don't think serves the story and that the book could do without. The heart of the book is the relationship between two sisters, one who wants to stay and one who wants to leave. The bear is merely set dressing to get them there, and it's a little bit awkward.

Bear is a simple tale at heart. It tells the story of the effect of a bear’s arrival on sisters Sam and Elena on the island of San Juan (off Washington State). The girls, who are in their late twenties and one year apart, live frugally in the house that has long been occupied by their family, nursing their mother, who is dying of an unnamed disease. They spend long hours at their menial jobs - Sam is a concession operator on a ferry and Elena is a waitress at an island restaurant – and dream of coming into enough money to leave the island; their house sits on valuable land, which should fund a new life for the girls once their mother passes away.

The titular bear is spotted one day swimming to the island from the mainland. It is further seen by Elena outside the girls’ house. While Sam is intrigued, Elena becomes downright obsessed. And, as the bear makes more and more close appearances, Sam and Elena disagree as to how to deal with the situation – Sam advocates a cautious approach, while Elena wants to develop more of a relationship with the creature. The story comes to a shocking conclusion when the issue is forced.

As with the author’s first novel (Disappearing Earth), I liked this book but did not love it. In the end, I feel that it would have made a better short story than a novel, as it leaves quite a few questions left unanswered. Also, I would have liked to have felt more emotional connection to the sisters and more nuance to their relationships with the bear. Julia Phillips will remain on my list of authors to read, however, as her prose and her ideas are compelling. (Love that cover, too, although is that a bear or not?)

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for my opinion.

Thank you first of to NetGalley and Hogarth Random House for allowing me to read this in exchange for my unbiased review. I selected this book from the title and my fondness for the beauty of the Washington islands. Pros: setting. The beautiful Pacific Northwest. The women live and work on one of the smaller islands surrounded by beauty. Affluence also, which they never achieve.
The characters, two sisters Sam and Elena, are working class women who reside with their ailing mother. In my opinion, the characters were underdeveloped and downright terrible. They bicker. They get on each other’s nerves to no end. You as the reader spend so much time in Sam’s mind and its mind numbing. All I wanted was out! So pointless and boring. I could not get behind any of the characters due to their immaturity (even though they are adults) Danny was also useless. Enter the bear, who is a rarity because bears apparently never appear on their island. Is it an allegory? The bear takes intense interest in their house and well… Elena, who returns interest in the bear in the most disturbing ways. Hated this storyline and almost quit reading, but powered through to see if it got better. It most certainly did not. The ending is one of the worst I have read. This book, in my opinion, could not decide which genre it wanted to be. It lacked a strong plot and was so boring I struggled to finish it. Even with the beautiful Pacific Northwest landscape. The sisters did not listen to Madeline and her warnings and the atrocious ending was awful. Happily ever after is actually written in Sam’s head. Absolutely no. Would not recommend. 1/5

Great! Gutting! Deftly dealing with class and family. All the people felt real. Would recommend this to anyone who doesn’t mind terrible things happening to people in books.

Depressing, sad, and not mystical in any way, shape or form.
It literally is about the sad, pathetic lives of two sisters, their dying mother, and an actual bear that encroaches on their island home. One sister is rightly terrified of it and the other wants to make it a pet.
There is no joy, no happy ending, and quite honestly, for me, 90% of it was boring to the point of "no, I can't read another mind-numbing, painful word".

A wonderful, intelligent novel. I absolutely loved the relationship between Sam and.Elena. You could feel the closeness, the tension, the resentment, but most of all the love is, the sisters had for each other. Factor in the relationship, the girls had with their mother. This book was quite simply fabulous when it came to family dynamics. The characters were well developed, and I truly cared about each and everyone of them.Then there was the bear. Who represent everything good and bad about their lives together. I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful new novel by Julia Phillips. I will continue to follow her work closely and recommend spoke to friends and family..

Sam works concessions on a ferry in the Pacific Northwest and dreams of getting away with her sister, Elena, who works at a golf course bar. Both are struggling to pay bills while supporting their terminally ill mother. When an off-course bear turns up in their yard, each sister reacts very differently, causing a riff in their relationship and their shared future. This contemporary novel explores family dynamics and communication in a small-town setting.

3.5/5, rounded up

I wasn't sure what this book would be like but I can tell you: pretty bleak. I read that this book was an homage to Snow White/Rose Red but honestly, it just felt like two sisters who were in desperate need of help and therapy. I found the conceit of the bear kind of annoying, though I see what the author was trying to do. I like Julia Phillips' writing and I found that the story had some potential, but overall this book just didn't hit for me.

#Bear #NetGalley

A sad tale of two sisters, struggling to get by and keep dreams for the future alive. Their paths diverge…the reliable sister finding wonder, where the guarded one sees a threat. Anyone who has grown up in a small town can relate to chafing against the forced sameness of home and desiring more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC. After reading the synopsis I thought this would be a book about 2 sisters and a mystical bear. Yes, the story is about 2 sisters and a bear but there is nothing mystical about the bear. The bear is a really dangerous animal.
This book is well-written but a little too grim for my taste. The sisters are dealing with a dying Mother major money problems and their own sisterly issues. I did think the book was a good read just not my taste. I will say the description of the San Juan Islands was great. I have been many times and love this area.

⭐ 5 / 5

A HUGE thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse @hogarthbooks and @juliaphillipswrites for allowing me to read this eARC. The unbiased opinions presented in this review are my own.
—---
Dear Julia Phillips,

You owe me a strong cup of Pacific Northwest coffee.

I have, once again, willingly traded much-needed sleep for your writing - staying up far later than is advisable according to the doctrines of adult responsibility. After experiencing the moving beauty of Disappearing Earth, I should have known to save Bear for a weekend binge-reading session. Instead, in gluttonous desperation, I started Bear on a Sunday night, knowing I had to get up and act like a (mostly) coherent professional all week.

To my vexation, my workplace will not accept, my entirely reasonable explanation for a sick day - “I am far too exhausted to work because I stayed up disgustingly late finishing a book, and even after I finished, the ending kept me awake, staring at the ceiling for hours pondering allegories, the heartbreakingly ineffable beauty of the Puget Sound, the fragility of life, the complex feeling of serene melancholy, and themes evoking the Japanese world view of Wabi Sabi.”

I have learned my lesson. I will make sure to set aside vacation time for all future publications.

-Ruby

#bear #netgalley #juliaphillips #disappearingearth #randomhousepublishing #randomhouse #hogarthbooks #bookreview #literaryfiction #favoriteauthors

Two sisters are taking care of their dying mother, in the Pacific northwest. One becomes obsessed with a bear she saw in the water. It is sad in some places, interesting story.

This is a story about sisters. And a bear.

When I read the synopsis of this book, I didn’t realize that the majority of the book was going to be about the characters fussing and fretting over the presence of an actual bear. I expected something quite different, I suppose.

Even though this wasn’t necessarily the story I had hoped for, it was definitely a solid character study. It dove into relationships between the sisters and their ailing mother. I do not gravitate to stories that are character driven, but if that’s the type of story you prefer, this could certainly serve you quite well!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this ebook!

Thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published June 25, 2024.

This is my first book by this author. I was drawn to it by the Pacific Northwest setting, and the idea of a bear showing up on an island.

Two sisters are caring for their dying mother on a wealthy island in the San Juan’s. However, they are barely scraping by and Sam dreams of her future inheritance and moving off the island. Elena, the other sister, is quite obsessed with the bear and tries to befriend it.

This is a slow moving book. I was bored a lot of the time but it did pick up significantly near the end when something happens that will test the sister’s relationship.

Elena and Sam, two sisters in their late twenties, struggling financially to survive on San Juan island off the coast of Washington state.
The sisters are close and depend on each other to bring home a wage to pay bills and take care of their dying mother. They live in an old run down house once owned by their grandmother.
Elena works at a golf club and Sam works for Anacartes Ferry company selling snacks to wealthy tourists and mainlanders.
One evening , at the end of Sam’s shift she spots a huge bear swimming in the channel .
Elena seems reluctant to believe the story about the bear until it shows up at their house a few days later.
As the weeks pass, the bear continues to show itself, wandering nearby.
Elena is in awe of such a majestic beast but Sam thinks she is being foolish and tries to stop her from “ making friends” with the bear.
I had to ask myself, why does the bear keep showing up on their property? Will the bear cause the sisters to argue and become distant from each other?
Julia Phillips has based this story on Brothers Grimm, Snow White and Rose Red. As in the fairytale is the bear magical for Elena and Sam or a harbinger of doom?
Bear is a fantastic tale of family, obsession and future dreams. It is a definite must read. Elena and Sam will remain in your heart long after you read the last page.
I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC!

I finished this book a few days ago, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. It was a quick read, but the action developed slowly.

What a beautiful book. This modern retelling of Snow White and Rose Red hits all the spots if you're looking for exquisite writing, a book big on character development work those characters flawed and flailing, moody coastal/NW Pacific Island vibes that becomes a character in itself. Oh, and a bear. A bear that may or may not be a harbinger of magic and miracles, or mayhem and madness. Big thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read the eArc of this wonderful book.