"The novel, written in the honest and unfiltered voice of the young girl, is a compact, tense survival story...A thoughtful take on change and fear, and the strength we find within ourselves."--Jon Foro,
Omnivoracious"[An] adventure with a narration that nicely captures an ordinary child's way of thinking-and of blocking out unwelcome knowledge. [A] slam-bang opening...Scary...Darkly funny...A touching epilogue...Harrowing but ultimately hopeful."--
Kirkus Reviews"Claire Cameron plunges us in to the dark terrors of the wilderness.
The Bear is a survival story that is heart-pounding and moving. I devoured this book."--Tanis Rideout, author of
Above All Things"Harrowing suspense.
The Bear is a survival thriller that is told from a child's-eye point-of-view, which is not only convincing but doubles the tension. A heartbreaking, white-knuckle read."--Andrew Pyper, author of
The DemonologistPRAISE FOR
THE BEAR "[A] gripping survival thriller...Cameron unspools the adventure in Anna's twitchy voice, heightening the tension...This agonizing odyssey of loss and being lost also has humor...The book's anguished yet hopeful ending provides a touching terminus...This expertly crafted novel could do for camping what
Jaws did for swimming."--Richard Eisenberg,
People"A page turner...
The Bear creates suspense out of the gap between what Anna knows and what the reader suspects...The story is laced with humor and moments of joy and triumph as well as fear and sorrow...Anna is such a compelling character...So gripping that it is hard to put the novel down."--Margaret Quamme,
The Columbus Dispatch"A vividly portrayed wilderness ordeal (poison ivy, hunger, rain, isolation) juxtaposed with glimpses of the inner resources young Anna draws upon (imagination, family, memory, hope), all seen through the eyes of a child who can express, if not entirely understand, her own resentment and protectiveness of her brother, her love and longing for her parents, her fear and empathy for the predator, and her determination to persevere...Uplifting."--
Publishers Weekly, "Pick of the Week"
"An emotional tour de force. Claire Cameron's
The Bear offers us an unforgettable child narrator who propels us through a story as unsettling as it is bone-chilling, and as suspenseful as it is moving."--Megan Abbott, author of
Dare Me"
The Bear is a taut and touching story of how a child's love and denial become survival skills. Claire Cameron takes a fairytale situation of children pitted against the wilderness, removes the fairies, and adds a terrifying and ravenous bear. I devoured this wonderful new novel in one day."--Charlotte Rogan, author of the national bestseller
The Lifeboat "Claire Cameron has written a chilling, beautiful, voice-driven novel, one that will turn your blood cold, make you laugh, and remind you of all the ways you are human. Most importantly she honors the complexity of our relationship with nature, the ways we are humbled by it and tethered to it. A vivid, potent, and unforgettable novel."--Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of
Birds of a Lesser Paradise