This story is set in the wild on woodland in a National Park in the US, and told through the mind, eyes and experience of a child of a conservationist father whose family had moved into the woodland with him while he conducts research in the Park.

I don’t feel anything.

Maybe a bit of relief.

Maybe a bit of emptiness.

But really, nothing.

Darcy is the young girl in the story that first located a wounded grizzly bear in a cave. She befriended the bear and took it upon herself to feed and care for the wounded bear but unknowingly to her her act of kindness was what would lead to self-doubts, close shaves, betrayal, lying, dying and death.

The stars are bright and there’s zillions and zillions of them. There are stars you’d never see any place else but wilderness.

The novel explores the dilemmas involved in being a conservationist’s child and the allure of city life while stranded in remote woodland. There was constant shift between the worlds of technology and the plainness and simplicity of living away from all the technological distractions that are abound in cities.

I make two loaves of bread…chocolate chip cookies…cupcakes…chicken casserole…

There were moments of cooking, baking, chocolate cookies eating, regular tea making and drinking, altitude sickness by Darcy and the occasional visits to the doctors. This is a good book that can be used to explore conservation issues like tree felling, poaching and domestication of wild animals, culture, and intimate relationships among children and young people (p.158).

The novel ended as if there’ll be a sequel to it.

Dreaming the Bear by Mimi Thebo; PB, Pp.185, OUP. Age:12+

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