100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

This is an environmental fiction novel.  "The Bears takes readers on a spiritual and environmental journey through the parallel stories of the human protagonists and their bear counterparts."  An oil pipeline has been built in Northern British Columbia.  After the pipeline inevitably bursts and creates "an unpardonable crime," people with a connection to the environment step up to help clean up the spill and the wildlife in the area.     Activist, Gilbert Crow, biologist, Anne and sustainability student Jonathan are compelled to help, especially when a spirit bear is in trouble.

I appreciate this story and enjoy the way it was told, with hope.  A poignant story in today's world, where oil spills are happening more and more frequently.  I loved that the story was told through alternating human and bear points of view.  I also liked how the Great Bear creation story is the foundation and we learn of how animals, humans, and climate are created and regulated by the Great Bear.  The human characters as well as the bears were well developed and even though the bears were anthropomorphized, the voice was still very much one of a wild bear.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.