A review by motherbooker
Finding Bear by Hannah Gold

5.0

The sequel to The Last Bear is just as well-written and charming as the first book. It does deal with some heavy themes and April often finds herself in dangerous situations. For a story about a girl and her polar bear friend, it's not a cute and sweet read. April is a conscientious and determined girl. She sees what humanity has done to the natural world and will do anything she can to help. She's an inspirational protagonist and manages to bring environmental issues to the forefront in a digestible way. It will certainly help to start a conversation about global warming and conservation. Not only do we see April's passion but we see how the world is changing. Hannah Gold expertly blends realism with fantasy to write an emotional and important story.

As an adult reader, there needs to be a certain amount of suspension of disbelief to get into this. After all, Bear is given human emotions and more awareness than he would have. He is shown to be a doting father but we know this wouldn't happen in the wild. Although, he's a character in a children's story and I get it. He's anthropomorphised to some extent but not so much that you don't believe Throughout the book, we are constantly reminded that April understands that he is a wild animal. It's just that her relationship with the polar bear is the stuff of fantasy. To counteract this, we meet a real polar bear and see just how dangerous they are.

As well as showing the consequences of global warming, Bear and his cub also mirror April and her father. April feels that her father is moving away from her and she is worried that he is moving on without her. She is facing the prospect of getting a new stepmother and isn't sure how she feels. Part of the reason why she feels such a connection to Bear's cub. She sees herself in the baby bear and is able to work through some of her own feelings at the same time. This is a perfect book to help children going through grief or a big change. There is positive character development here and it just makes the story stronger. It's the perfect book for younger readers.

Overall, I'm not sure if this is quite as good as the first book but it's still a fantastic read. It keeps up the tradition and manages to be both charming and informative. It's adorable and I loved every part of it. Obviously, April gets herself into some life-threatening situations but it's definitely not too much for the age range. It's an exciting adventure that faces one of the biggest issues facing humanity today. It's a wonderful book and I'm glad Gold reunited these friends.