I’m a sucker for a good fractured fairy tale, and this contemporary Snow White & Rose Red retelling does not disappoint. Sisters Sam and Elena always dreamed of a better life for themselves, but they are stuck in their grandmother’s house in Friday Harbor, a depressed tourist town in Washington state. Taking turns as caretaker to their terminally ill, co-dependent mother, their vision has always been that once their mother passes, they will be able to sell their home and move on to their own destinies in Seattle or California… but there is a lot of waiting in this book. When the time comes, it turns out the house isn’t worth what they thought–a shock to Sam, but Elena knew–and anyway, Elena doesn’t want to go anywhere, and seems satisfied with the impoverished, dull life they lead, resulting in significant disagreement.

Struggling to recover from a post-pandemic economic downturn, both Sam and Elena do work catering to tourists, but Elena has the cushier job serving at the golf club, while Sam is stuck in food service on the tiny galley of the ferry. Elena gets the hot guys, while Sam screws coworker Ben in the head, keeping it sex-only, allowing a relationship that could develop into something real to stagnate, instead. The sister’s conflict escalates when Elena becomes obsessed with a bear that seems to be making a home for itself in the local woods.

Elena sees this dangerous alpha predator as some noble creature, a thing of power and beauty, a symbol that she is on the right path, and something that she has a special bond with, and thus can tame. Sam recognizes the bear as a threat, to their lives, their relationship, to their home–and enlists support from the local sheriff’s office, who refers the Department of Fish and Wildlife to the case. The agent, Madeline, advises Sam and her sister to stay away, and not to feed the bear. Elena doesn’t listen, even when threatened with fines, jail time, possible death and dismemberment. She’s enthralled.

Phillips masterfully executes atmosphere and tone in the bleakness of the sister’s lives, hopelessness of escaping their and inevitableness of repeating the mistakes of one’s parents, juxtaposed against the natural setting, both sea and shore, and the terror of a bear snuffling around their flimsy cottage. The narrative focuses on depressed, volatile Sam–her voice is refreshing, and her character and actions complex. Threaded throughout is the language of fairy tales: poisoned apples, roses and thorns, curses, villains whose wrath can shake an entire house, Sam’s Cinderella-like scrubbing to scour the house of death when their mother passes away. The homage to the original lesser-known tale of Snow White and Rose Red is skillfully woven in: an excerpt from the original prefaces the story to remind us that the mother endorses the bear.

Elena’s choices to pursue a demon lover examines how history repeats itself and how children replicate the mistakes of their parents–we are more comfortable with the devil we know than the unfamiliar angel. The entire novel could be viewed as a warning for women against men we know are not just bad, but deadly for us. Timely, given the viral “I’d rather be alone in the woods with a bear than a man” meme that took over the Internet in spring 2024.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #Bear via #NetGalley courtesy of #RandomHouse.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing House for this early review copy.

This book had its ups and downs. I enjoyed the relationship of the sisters it started off with, but then as it grew more complicated, I really struggled to enjoy their relationship and where the story was going. You learn as the story goes on that what you're initially presented with as their personalities isn't truly who they are. It was almost reverse character growth and development for me, which I suppose is something I'm not used to. I kind of saw some version of the ending coming, but it was still shocking!

This is a literal adult fairy tale, and it was such a unique reading experience in a good way. I feel like when I saw the "sell" of this book it had something about Snow White and Rose Red which is definitely something that would have drawn me in. While it was a fairy tale, it was set in present day (I always think of fairy tales as being "old"), and it's really also just about sisters trying to figure out life. There is a literal bear that plays all kinds of roles in the story, but it's also just two sisters figuring out how to manage all the "stuff" that happens to them together and apart. The emotions were raw and real, but there's also that layer of magic here, too. This was unlike anything I've read, and again, that's a good thing. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this June 2024 release!

I requested this book because I visit the San Juan islands to go camping every year and was excited to see a book set there! Phillips did a great job of building the place out and showing the mundanity of Sam’s work on the ferry.

What lost me was just about everything else. I did not care for the short, clipped writing in simple and repetitive sentences. It made the book feel more juvenile than it was marketed as and stopped me from connecting with the characters. It’s promoted as “a dark fairy tale” but that sense doesn’t fully develop until the last half or more of the book. The first third was fairly boring, just laying out a sense of place and the characters and yet I still didn’t feel any sense of darkness building.

By the last couple vignettes of this book, the inevitable ending began to materialize in my mind and the story took on a thriller sense to it. I can’t help but wonder if I would’ve liked this better if indeed the darkness had been pushed and the story set up more like a thriller than literary fiction. The sisters repeatedly talk about feeling trapped in that house and that took on an almost Gothic tone.

By the end, the characters had changed and my idea of who the villain truly was surprised me! <SPOILER> As Sam starts to unravel and become obsessed with making her sister “return” to her, you start to wonder if she is unreliable as a narrator and has actually remembered their promises to one another with her own bent or perception rather than what happened or even as Elena intended. I do think it was crucial to show how Elena had kept secrets from Sam to illustrate her duplicitousness in order to cast serious doubt on her true behavior with the bear.

I liked the overall concept of this story but the weak writing at sentence level ultimately turned me against it. I would recommend this book to fans of Brothers Grimm story tales, close sister relationships, and anyone else drawn to stories set in the PNW. Thank you to Net Galley and Hogarth for the eARC.

I just had such a hard time with this book. I didn't end up finishing it. Didn't care for the sisters. Just wasn't my cup of tea.

What an interesting book! So well written and engaging. Not something I would normally pick up, but I'm glad I got to read it!

Thank you NetGalley and Julia Phillips!

The book/plot, if placed on a graph, would steadily decrease downward. I loved her first book and this book had an interesting premise and a great beginning of a fraught sister relationship & the authors love of nature on the islands off Seattle showed. However, by the middle, it felt like not much happened and no character development, just the reiteration of the same feelings and the main characters stunted emotional development due to teenage emotional trauma. The parts I liked: the setting & its rich descriptions, and the bear itself. The part I didn't like" the ending that swiftly ended the book.

This was not for me. I thought the story about the sisters was beautiful and moving but the bear in the story was too much for me. I also really did not care for the ending in this one. Think I am learning maybe literary fiction is not my favorite. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Such a well-told tragic story of up-close daily life in most of America. I was engrossed in this story from cover to cover! While I thoroughly enjoyed it - and am sure that you will too - after finishing it, I was left wanting a bit more. What exactly was missing I'm not sure. The sister bond is a major focal point of this story. I do not have that experience, so maybe it will read differently for someone that does. This is almost a Grimm Fairy Tale version of Frozen's Anna and Elsa. The way it would have played out in real-life, in modern America.
In the end, I'm really left wondering what was real and what was perceived and how our experiences and "rules" for living shape so much of our future outcomes.

I wanted to love Bear. The premise sounded like it would be filled with magic and mystery and complicated family dynamics. It delivered on that last element, it not really the others- or much else that resonated with me, for that matter. I found the characters more frustrating than sympathetic. But if you’re looking for a quiet, somewhat dark read, it might be for you.

Thank you Julia Phillips, Hogarth, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Bear was another excellent novel by Julia Phillips. I loved the fairy tale retelling and the exploration of the relationship between the sisters.

This is a clear case of too high expectations for me, given that I loved the author's debut so much.

Although 'Bear' does some of the same things as 'Disappearing Earth', it didn't feel as captivating. One reason may be the structure: where Disappearing Earth told different stories all loosely related to a kidnapping and having the reader puzzle and look for clues, 'Bear' is a much more straightforward narrative about the close relationship between two sisters, caring for their dying mother and making ends meet by working their butts off.

It definitely held my interest though and I found the theme of 'us against the world (right?)' interesting to explore, but it's not a novel I would recommend as a must-read.

Beautifully written, hauntingly mesmerizing, heartbreaking.

A remarkably simple set up: two sister struggling financially after coming out of Covid encounter a bear on their island. Each sister has a drastically different reaction to the bear and a story ensues.

And yet? I was wrapped up in this book from start to finish. Something about it was so gripping that you couldn’t have torn me away from it until I was done.

I usually love fairy tale retellings, but something about this one fell flat for me. Not much happens in this novel; it's primarily the study of the relationship between two sisters as they care for their ailing mother. Sam, our protagonist, is an insufferable character. Seriously, I had trouble relating to any part of her experience. The ending is frustrating. I loved Disappearing Earth by the same author, but this one is a pretty easy pass.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is my first Julia Phillips and wow was it a journey. The synopsis of this book really intrigued me, and based on some things in the synopsis, I was expecting the story to be a little more speculative or magical-feeling. However, I was interested in the story throughout and curious where it was going. Both the sisters definitely bothered me--both in personality and decision-making. I also really wish it ended differently. Ultimately, it was a little bleak for my liking. But the writing was strong and I would pick up this author again.

This was a gripping read set in a place that seemed both sacred and mundane. One of the best books I've read this summer and one I will recommend to others.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.
This is the story of two sisters Sam and Elena trapped in minimum wage world, trying to keep a roof over their heads, while caring for their mother who is in the bedroom dying from lung disease. Though the San Juan islands of the Pacific Northwest are beautiful, it is lost on them as they go about the drudgery while falling further and further in debt and a house falling down around them.
Elena as the oldest has bore the largest share of responsibility, while Elena, despite being 28 was only vaguely aware of their situation. The one thing of value they own is their home on 6 acres of pristine wilderness, but they are unable to sell it as their mother wants to die there. Everything is on hold until their mother’s imminent death.
Their live are suddenly upended when suddenly a huge Bear shows up on their porch. At first both sisters are terrified. After he moves on Elena spots him again and spins it into a magical fairy tale and actively begins seeking the bear out. Sam tells her she is delusional , which sets up the major conflict in the book. These two sisters have relied on each other for everything, and now this bear is tearing them apart.
The story explores the themes of birth order, poverty, the US medical system, wildlife incursion.
I really enjoyed this book- though a simple story at the surface, there are many layers to it. I had a hard time with liking either character - the story is told from Sam’s POV and she is so angry and mean that she is hard to like. She has good reason- she is trapped in a life she hates, and she has no patience for anyone but her sister. She is down right ugly to the two male characters, both of which give her way more of a pass that would be expected. Elena is a more elusive, she is only seen from Sam’s eyes, so we don’t get to know what she thinks. On the surface she is saintly but she has secrets even from Sam. Lots to unpack. This would be a great book club read to discuss. Recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a character driven story that didn’t super from any superfluous ancillary characters. I really felt like I got to know Sam and her struggles. I don’t know that I would recommend this to everyone but definitely to fans of literary fiction. It’s a little odd but in an enjoyable way. Thank you to NetGalley, Julia Phillips, and Hogarth for the ARC.

Julia Phillips introduces her new novel, Bear, with a prefatory snippet from the Brothers Grimm. A wild bear, wandering in from the dark forest (a Grimm set piece), takes up residence with a human family. The beast meets with welcoming attention and makes itself at home, although the children, predictably boisterous, eventually take to tormenting it playfully. It growls a bit, and they laugh. Fade out.

When events in Phillips’ narrative start to mirror this preamble, what reader wouldn’t anticipate the clamorous arrival of allegory, that fairy godmother of literature, to set things in order? But this is not to be — at least not yet — for Phillips has another mode of narrative spellcasting to put in play, and we soon find ourselves in a gritty, character-driven family drama centering on two twentysomething sisters.
The locale is the San Juan Islands of northwest Washington, a beautiful estuarine realm edged by forested wildlands. Sam Arthur runs the concession stand on a ferry that transports passengers, mainly tourists, from island to island. Elena, her elder sister, waits tables at the country club on the island where they live. They make do with dead-end jobs and paltry wages to support their ailing, bedridden mother, whose medical debts are growing by the day. Both siblings — as Sam, the novel’s narrator, sees it — work at jobs defined by stark class distinctions. On the ferry, Sam, to her petulant annoyance, is the foil of prosperous mainland tourists; at the club, Elena has to kowtow to the more privileged residents of the island.

Of the two, Sam is the dreamer, fixated on the far future when (sadly) their mother would pass on and (happily) the sisters would inherit her house and property, releasing a monetary windfall that would allow them to fly away together:

“One day, they would leave San Juan. Their world would expand, grow richer and more stable. The happinesses would come constantly…”

Sam’s day-to-day reality is more earthbound than her bright fantasies of tomorrow. She has drifted into a matter-of-fact relationship with a dull ferry crewman, with whom she hooks up in out-of-the-way shipboard spaces, including closets and locker rooms, and there only. Her sole connections of any emotional resonance are with her sister and mother. She admires Elena for her budgetary rectitude and her dogged stamina in holding off their creditors. She never considers her sister’s inner life, assuming it tracks with her own escapist daydreams.

The bear enters Phillips’ tale as a curiosity. Sam, idling at the ferry rail, glimpses it swimming parallel to the boat. No seal or orca, but an actual bear in the water, crossing the bay toward Sam’s home island. Later, it visits the family there, terrifying the sisters as it rubs up against their front door:

“There, not ten feet away, was the animal’s massive body. As big as three men. Wider, stronger, and far deadlier. Its tail, its back, its thighs. It twitched and its muscles rippled. A dark stripe of fur lay over its spine…The bear, with a blow, could smash through one of their windows, barge into the kitchen. Demolish their lives.”

The creature lingers in nearby woods, occasionally taking deer or livestock but raising no great alarm among the townspeople. But Elena harbors a growing fascination (might we say infatuation?) with the bear and dares, in the ensuing weeks, to approach it ever more closely. Sam is horrified by the animal, by the reckless chances Elena takes in getting close to it, and by Elena’s uncharacteristic and demi-spiritual transport when she speaks of this massive, potentially deadly presence in her life. At the same time, their mother’s precarious health is markedly deteriorating.

Author Phillips skillfully depicts a dismal, socially stratified environment and slips her laissez-faire grizzly into the narrative stream so adroitly that it seems earned — until the nimbus of magical realism begins to flicker. Some readers may find their engagement wearing thin about halfway in, giving way to a dawning sense of predictability that puts suspended disbelief to the test.

But make no mistake: This is an artful novel, a virtuosa depiction of two sisters struggling for stability in the face of looming peril. But the mixed tone as the book nears its climactic moments — its dismal neo-naturalism versus its figurative claims on reader credulity — may present a challenge for some. It’s fair to say Bear is not, strictly speaking, an “uplifting” novel. Even so, Phillips has crafted a beguiling world peopled by characters who stir the heart with their longing for something better than what they have.

Bear is the first book I have read by Julia Phililps. It is a dark story centered around a Bear that haunts a community in Washington State. One sister becomes obsessed with the creature and actually seems to develop a relationship with it in chance and planned meetings. Her sister plots to find out what is happening and is horrified by what she finds. It is dark and dangerous and signifies something truely missing in the lives of both. This story was mesmerizing. It is a well told tale of a creature that is not meant for human interaction and another hungry for a relationship. Enjoyed the book, but it was not what I was expecting. Thanks to #NetGalley for the opprotunity to read and review this intriguing novel