I found this really hard to get into but once I did I was glad I did finish.
The setting is well set as well as the characters.

I read this novel about two sisters immediately after finishing the Blue Sisters; they could not be more different!

I had read that the novel was inspired by the fairy tale Snow White and Red Rose. And so I was expecting this story about a bear who arrives at the island where the two sisters live to have some weird elements to it. Sam and Elena are two sisters living on a Washington State island with their very ill mother, barely making ends meet. The only silver lining is that Sam believes they will eventually leave the island to start fresh somewhere new.

I feel like this would definitely be a fabulous book club selection. The writing is superb and kept me turning the pages because I was so curious to read where the story was going. The relationship between the sisters alone would spur on great conversations. Add in the bear and the story ending and you've got the makings of lots of different opinions about the book. I feel that most readers will either love it or hate it, with not many in between, and everyone will agree that it is memorable.

Thank you to Random House Hogarth for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This author did a fantastic job of creating the imagery around the story. From the woods to the water, I felt truly immersed in this story. Very well written.

I am always interested in a book about sisters. The complicated relationship between sisters makes for a good story. Sam and Elena are normality sisters. They live on an island off of Washington State, where many wealthy people have homes. Although they live on this island, they are not wealthy, they are actually struggling beyond belief. They are full time caretakers of their mother and they both have dead end jobs. Sam works in the ferry that, that is the only way on and off the island. It is a being job and leaves her with envy when she sees the rich people come and go. Elena works as a bartender at the local golf course. They are surrounded by so much money and yet they can’t get or save a worthy amount to get off the island. They have a pact to do so but as the years drag on they are no better off than they were. Until one day Sam sees a bear swimming along side the ferry. This bear becomes a permanent thing in their lives. What is this bear meant to represent? Why is is it following her now? Can the sisters find peace? Can they find a life off this island? Or do they even have the same dreams anymore? This was a quirky read for me? It had an interesting premise but it was lacking something. Overall it was a 3 star read for me. I want to thank Netgalley, Julia Phillips & Random House Publishing Group for my copy for an honest review. I am glad I was able to read this book.

The more I read this book, the weirder it became. Despite its oddness, I was compelled to finish it. Many things seemed reasonable, but some of what Elena did seemed ridiculous. Somehow, I didn't let myself think that it would end the way that it did. I should have seen it coming, but every time I considered the idea, I figured it was too obvious, and there was no way that could be the outcome.

It's a slow burn and not necessarily uplifting but I liked it more than most Goodreads reviews. I love stories about sisters, a Pacific Northwest backdrop, and layered storytelling like this. Still, it's not a story I'd recommend to many people.

mediocre in my opinion, this just wasn't it for me. I like a family drama but the sisters were a bit insufferable and I didn't connect with them

Elena and Sam live with their dying mother on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. Their lives are bleak as they wait for their mother to die. Then a bear swims to the island and Elena becomes enchanted with it- putting what little they have at risk. An offbeat modern retelling of Snow White and Rose Red- dark and compelling.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC- my opinions are my own.

This is such an emotional rollercoaster of a book. It's the story of Sam and Elena, sisters, who are living on an island in the Northwest, with their mother. The mom is really sick, gets out of bed only to go to the doctors. The girls are her caretakers. Elena is the older sister who's basically has acted like a mother to Sam their entire life. They have very little money, and dream of leaving the island for a better life.

A bear appears on their doorstep one day, and later returns. Sam is petrified, but Elena falls in love with the bear. The book is so amazing, I didn't want it to end. I was completely shocked at the ending, though. I would recommend this to just about every person who loves to read. It is so well written and just a great story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this copy in return for my honest review.

There were parts I appreciated in this book - covering grief and familial obligation and sisters. But I also think parts of it may have gone over my head. Was the bear a metaphor? Was it real? I don’t know. And the ending was a lot. Ultimately this one wasn’t for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

*Bear* is a beautifully crafted novel that explores the intricate dynamics of sisterhood through the eyes of Sam and Elena, two sisters grappling with their dreams and frustrations on a remote island off the coast of Washington. Their lives are defined by struggle, as they work menial jobs to make ends meet while yearning for a different life. The introduction of a mysterious bear serves as a powerful symbol of their diverging desires—Sam’s fear pushes her to seek escape, while Elena becomes enchanted by the bear, questioning everything they’ve dreamed of.

As someone with my own close relationship with my sisters, I found the portrayal of their bond deeply relatable and moving. The tension between Sam's urgency to flee and Elena's fascination with the bear mirrors the challenges we often face in familial relationships—balancing personal aspirations with the ties that bind us. The novel masterfully intertwines themes of longing, identity, and the animalistic instincts that dwell within us, creating a rich narrative that resonates on multiple levels. *Bear* is not just a story about two sisters; it’s a profound exploration of how love and loyalty can shape our choices and our understanding of ourselves.

Two sisters in a small town find their lives disrupted by a misplaced grizzly bear.
I love the way Phillips writes and while there were pieces of the plot that I found to be unrealistic, I liked the overall idea of how people can be so close and yet not on the same page at all. Also something happens at the end of this book that I am dying to discuss so if you read it, please let me know.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for this ARC.

I wanted to like this, but it wasn’t holding my attention. I DNF’d it 10% in.

Giving it 3 stars because I’m sure some people will like it. Just not the book for me.

Bear by Julia Phillips. This book was intense! I didn't initially think it was, but the more I sit with it, the more I see how intense it truly was. I did not expect the book to end the way it did, but honestly, I'm glad it ended that way. The sister was clearly in a dark place, mentally. I'd recommend this book to anyone.

Sam and Elena live on San Juan Island in Washington state. Sam works on a ferry, serving customers who ride the ferry between islands all day. She and her sister dream of leaving this place. They grew up on a small town on the island and have been taking care of their sick mother. One day, Sam sees a bear swimming alongside the ferry she works on. The bear ends up taking up residence on their island.

The bear visits Sam and Elena's house and scrapes off some of the siding while doing some scent marking. It also leaves some scat in their yard. Other island residents report the bear getting their chickens and getting into their garbage.

As a wildlife biologist, some of the details about the bear were not correct, but those won't detract from the story. To be accurate, we should note that bear scats do not smell as badly as described. Bears themselves also do not smell bad. A grizzly bear in the location described would be an incredibly rare and once-in-a-lifetime event. The bear would not have stayed in one place for so long as described. This is all from the perspective of a biologist though. As a story element, the bear does what it is supposed to do. I just think we need to be as accurate as possible when describing animals such as bears because any misinformation about this species can lead to potential negative consequences for the species. As seen in the book, some folks want to shoot the bear, just because it's a bear. There were descriptions showing the animal taking food from a person, which should never be attempted. That seems obvious to most of us, but when it come to wildlife, sometimes folks don't show enough caution.

Elena is shown feeding the bear bread and calling it to her in the forest. That is not typical wild bear behavior. Either this bear has previous contact with humans and lost its natural wariness, or it was somehow unwell enough to allow a human to approach it. Either way, the bear in the story is not a typical bear. It's also not a species typically found in that location.

The bear may be more of a metaphor in the context of the story than it is intended to be a physical bear. The two sisters have very different ideas about their future. Sam is relying on a statement that Elena made years ago, when they were teenagers, in which she said that they would sell the house and move out of the area once their mother passed on. But, Elena never intended that to be their future. Sam is not a very mature character and really doesn't have the skills to cope with many things that will happen once their mother passes. The bear may symbolize this disconnect between the sisters and the conflict that is coming.

This was a great look into the lives of two working-class women who live on the edge of financial ruin and want a better future for themselves. They each go about this in their own ways. The conflict comes on gradually as the sisters seem to grow apart. Their mother's death is the catalyst that finally splits them apart. It's a memorable story and has a somewhat melancholy tone. We feel for the sisters' plight and want Sam to grow up and be able to deal with her reality. Overall, a great story, but lacking in accurate life history details about bears themselves.

According to the blurb about this book, there's a shocking twist at the end. Unfortunately, I lost interest before I got there. I read about 50% of this book and gave up. Although the descriptions of the setting are amazingly accurate and really place the reader soundly in the San Juan Islands in Puget sound, I just found myself bored with the "action". There's a bear hanging around the sisters' house and their mother is quite ill (probably dying), but that's basically it. There are endless conversations about the bear and lots of hand wringing -- why is it here? should I call the wildlife officers? should I just ignore it? is it friendly? and on and on. I just couldn't make myself finish this book. Based on other reviews and the summary, I'm sure it will appeal to some readers, just not me.

Julia Phillips
Bear
Hogarth, June 2024

Julia Phillips's second novel, “Bear” (Hogarth, 2024), takes place on the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. Isolated, remote, and in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic. The tourists are few and far between, while the working-class island dwellers who rely on tourism dollars to make ends meet are fraying at the end of what remains of their ragged ropes.

Our narrator, Sam, and her older sister, Elena, live with their chronically ill, disabled mother in a bedraggled home they can no longer maintain or afford to leave. The bond between the sisters, especially through ever-fluctuating financial, caregiving, and psychosocial dilemmas, continues to strengthen despite COVID-19, unusual guests, and climate change eroding the backyard wonderland where they once played.

In 2019, a bear was spotted on San Juan Island. Phillips utilizes this news bite, integrates it with the themes of isolation and sisterhood she introduced in her debut novel, “Disappearing Earth,” and expands them further with the Grimm fairy tale “Snow White and Rose Red.”

If you like your novels multilayered, ominous, contemporary, filled with social commentary and the power of connection, then Julia Phillips's “Bear” is the book for you. (Good Morning America, Vulture, New York Times Book Review, and Electric Literature all agree!)

Thank you kindly to Julia Phillips, Hogarth (a Random House imprint), and Netgalley for the eARC.

Two sisters live in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington. They take care of their mother, and live in their tiny house, but they are waiting for a time when they can sell the house and go live on the mainland and start their lives. Sam works at the concession stand on the ferry, selling snacks and hot chocolates to tourists, hooking up now and again with one of the other ferry workers. Elena works at the golf club as a waitress, and takes on more of the work involved in caring for their terminally ill mother, but she's the oldest and takes on this burden. Things seem smooth, if not comfortable, after all, the pause in Sam's employment caused by the pandemic has left them in a hole, but they have the future to look forward to. Then a bear appears in their front yard, a rare, but not unknown occurrence. Bears do swim between the islands, mainly in search of mates. While Sam is wary, Elena is fascinated and although she tells Sam she's catching rides to work with co-workers, and not walking through the woods alone, this may not be true.

Bear is written by the author of Disappearing Earth, a brilliant collection of tightly connected short stories set on the cold and wild eastern coast of Russia. While the setting is not dissimilar, being on the isolated fringe of an empire, this novel has a simpler plot, told entirely from the point of view of one of the sisters, and moves straight-forwardly through time. That said, Phillips is doing some interesting work here; the bear is both a metaphor and an actual bear. The way that Phillips tells this story through Sam's unreliable eyes, the vivid way she describes the island setting with its beauty and lack of opportunities and affordability for working class people, and of wanting to escape a place you love is beautifully done.
3 likes

This is the most unusual/ original book I have read this year. In some ways, it's familiar, with conflicts between sisters, complications of a dying mother, a remote location. Bur in many ways it is unique, startling, and a bit weird. But honestly I enjoyed it as I think it gets to how complicated our relationships to those we love can be, how often we want to leave our childhood behind while still being inexplicably drawn to it, and our desire to have something no one else has, even at great risk to ourselves. Highly recommended for anyone looking for something a little different.

A thrilling read. The familiar setting of Friday Harbor was honestly my catalyst for reading and I felt so much for Sammy and her need to leave-need to stay dilemma. Really liked this one!