Book Review - The Girl Who Speaks Bear

 

Title: The Girl Who Speaks Bear

Author: Sophie Anderson 

Publisher: ‎ Usborne Publishing Ltd 

Release Date: 5 Sept. 2019 

ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1474940672

 Synopsis

Found abandoned in a bear cave as a baby, 12-year-old Yanka has always felt out of place in her small village. When she wakes up to find that her legs have become bear legs, she sets off into the forest to discover who she is, on a journey that takes her from icy rivers to smouldering mountains, with an ever-growing group of misfits alongside her... Interwoven with traditional stories of bears, princesses and dragons, Yanka's journey is a gorgeously lyrical adventure from the best-selling author of The House With Chicken Legs. 

 

My Review

This is the last of the Carnegie shortlist books that I have been reading. From the blurb, I thought is sounded a bit weird but very intriguing and i think the cover is beautiful so I was quite looking forward to reading it. 

Yanka was found as a baby outside a bears cave, she was taken back the village by the person she now calls mother, but Yanka has always felt out of place, much bigger and stronger than all of the other children and with a yearning for the forest, she isn't sure where she belongs in life. Then one morning, she wakes up to discover that her legs have turned from human to bear! Desperate not to let anyone see, she runs away and takes off into the woods - desperate to find out what is happening to her and guided by old folk stories and legends.

That was my favourite part of the book - between chapters there would be a traditional story printed that was linked to this story, so you got a variety of other tales too that all connected and made the world seem more alive and realistic. I actually preferred the legends to the main story.

I found Yanka to be quite a strong and brave young lady considering what she was going through but at times she could also be very annoying and naive. But I did find myself hoping that she would find her happiness.

The story was quite odd, and I wasn't entirely sure of the relevance of all of it, it is quite convoluted in getting to the ending and i skim read some parts as i got a bit bored, but overall I really enjoyed the story and would definitely like to know more about the background of her father and ancestors and their links to the bears.

Overall, I enjoyed it and wouldn't be upset if it won.   

My Rating