The Water Bears by Kim Baker
Release: April 21st 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Source: Amazon
Synopsis:
A story about a boy recovering from a bear attack with the help of his friends and maybe, some magic.
All Newt Gomez wants for his thirteenth birthday is a bike. After surviving a bear attack last year, he thinks this isn’t an unreasonable request. Instead, his hardworking parents give him a former taco truck to help him get around the wacky island where they live in the Pacific Northwest. And then Newt and his best friend Ethan find a life-sized wooden bear washed up on the shore. Ethan is convinced the bear grants wishes; Newt doesn’t know what to think.
Newt also has a big decision ahead: go to middle school on the island, or to the mainland where his warm extended family lives? There, he won’t be the only Latinx kid; he doesn’t have bad dreams about the attack, and not everyone knows what happened to him. Newt secretly plots to move to his abuela’s house, but his truck is stolen with the maybe-magic bear inside. He must confront his fears and adapt to the reality of a world that’s often uncertain, but always full of salvageable wonders.
The Water Bears Review:
I hate giving harsh reviews because I know the amount of work it takes to putting a book out there. However, I found it very difficult to enjoy the story and considered DNFing it midway.
Firstly, I was really infuriated with the style of writing. There are so many unnecessary details.In almost every line, when the author says a thing, she follows it with 3 more sentences describing it that don’t add any value. The story doesn’t progress smoothly due to this.
Secondly, there are just too many page fillers where nothing happens. I liked Izzy’s friendship with Newt, but again, looking back, there was no point to her character. Her conversations with Newt are almost the same as the ones Newt has with Ethan. Only with random facts and trivia about birds and species thrown in.
Thirdly, there are just too many names to keep track of who is what. I really don’t need to know the names of all of Newt’s goats, or the man down the street who is a magician, or someone who wear flip flops and rides bicycles. I understand the author wanted to make the island sound like an eccentric place, but with all these details, it just made me more annoyed with it.
Fourthly, I really didn’t see the point of the Marvelo monster plot. Sure, it sparked my interest in the beginning. However, the story is pushed aside and shows up in the end and no plausible conclusion is given. I was not sure what the point of it was.
Unfortunately, as you can see, there were just too many reasons for me to dislike this book. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because I loved the premise and book cover. I also liked Izzy’s back story, which I didn’t see coming. Leti was my favorite character. I liked her a lot and thought she was the best character in the book (although we don’t see much of her). Overall, The Water Bears was a disappointing read.
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