Bear

"After reading Julia Phillips’ debut novel, Disappearing Earth, I couldn’t wait to pick up Bear. I was not disappointed. Disappearing Earth transported the reader to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia; Bear takes place in the San Juan Islands of the rural Pacific Northwest. It follows two sisters, Sam and Elena, who are caring for their dying mother. One day, Sam, who works on a ferry, spots a bear in the water. “A shape broke the surface. A creature. Moving. Someone near her shouted.” The bear keeps appearing to the sisters, who react quite differently to the strange sightings. And the story proceeds, like the dark fairy tale it is."