Book: Bear, Otter, and The Kid
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Paul Richmond
Publication date: August 12, 2011
Length: 350 pages
Reviewed by Michael
Synopsis
Three years ago, Bear McKenna’s mother took off for parts unknown with her new boyfriend, leaving Bear to raise his six-year-old brother Tyson, aka the Kid. Somehow they’ve muddled through, but since he’s totally devoted to the Kid, Bear isn’t actually doing much living—with a few exceptions, he’s retreated from the world, and he’s mostly okay with that. Until Otter comes home.
Otter is Bear’s best friend’s older brother, and as they’ve done for their whole lives, Bear and Otter crash and collide in ways neither expect. This time, though, there’s nowhere to run from the depth of emotion between them. Bear still believes his place is as the Kid’s guardian, but he can’t help thinking there could be something more for him in the world... something or someone.
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Review
Flashback Friday’s can be kind of tricky for me. I’ve been involved in the genre less than two
years. In that time, most of what I’ve
read has been newer material. At the
same time, I try to find books by authors that may not have as much notoriety
as others. I will warn you ahead of
time, I have failed that with this review.
So I’m always looking for recommendations. About a year ago, my best friend (more on him
a little later on) told me (he was
quite forceful) that I absolutely had to
read TJ Klune, “Bear Otter and the Kid” in particular. Knowing me as well as he does, he told me
that the character of Bear was someone I would be able to relate to. So I checked out the book, bought it, and it
sat languishing in my Kindle for months.
Life being what it is, it took me awhile to get to it. Once I finally did, however, …it’s hard for me to put into words what this book (and
this series, for that matter) really means to me.
This book isn’t romance, at least not in the conventional
sense. No, this book is more about life:
the highs and lows, happiness and pain, love and loss, every color of the
emotional spectrum are here within these
pages.
To date, there is absolutely no character that I have been
able to relate to more so than Bear. The
circumstances that have led him to be the man he is may be significantly
different, but the results are similar.
His inner turmoil is mine. People
that made promises to him, or who should
have been there for him, weren’t. His
entire world fell apart, not once but twice.
Take a piece of paper or glass, break it into pieces, then
try putting it back together.
Inevitably, what you find is that there are pieces that either don’t fit
back together the way they should or are missing
altogether.
That’s Bear. Scarred
at the deepest level. Trying to put the
pieces of his life back together again, over and over, and finding that there
are some missing.
As an aside, I absolutely hate the term “mental illness”.
The word “illness”, by its very definition, means “a period of sickness
affecting the body or mind”. People
that suffer from these issues aren’t
“sick”. Yes, there may be physiological or chemical issues in some, but in entirely
too many cases, that “sickness” is simply how they were taught to view
themselves. In the same way, we are taught that one plus one equals
two, or that the sky is blue, certain people leave an indelible impression on
us. They tell us who we are by the way
they treat us, talk to us, and, sometimes, leave us. That view becomes a part of who we are at a
fundamental level, just like the answer to a math equation. It is the truth
we have been taught about ourselves.
But sometimes…sometimes someone comes along and sees a
different truth. They see in us those holes
left by the missing pieces and understand
why we see ourselves as we do. And love us anyway. Scars, missing pieces, and all. Unconditionally. They understand us in ways that sometimes we don’t
understand ourselves and accept us for who we truly are, not some idealized
concept of who they want us to be. They
want to teach us a different lesson, to show us that not everyone will treat us
the way we’ve been treated by others.
They want to stand by us even if we don’t quite understand the reason
why or the lesson itself. Some of us
need that someone who will prove to us that what has been doesn’t have to be the
way it is.
That’s Otter. Flawed,
but strong and loyal, and willing to do anything
to teach Bear (and his brother Ty) a different lesson, give him a different
life than what he’s used to, and love Bear unconditionally.
I had the extreme pleasure of meeting TJ Klune last
October. When I was finished being
tongue-tied, I tried to convey to him just how much this book and series meant
to me on a personal level. I’m sure what
came out was something akin to fanboy drooling, and I probably embarrassed
myself simply by opening my mouth.
However, he was extremely kind and gracious, and I couldn’t appreciate
that more. And I can only hope that this
review makes up for my verbal inadequacies.
As for my best friend (remember him, the one who said I had to read this)? Well, he’s become much, much more. Because…well…Life. I found my Otter.
Giveaway
Enter the Flashback Friday Giveaway!!!
Ends soon!
TJ is one of the best authors!
ReplyDeleteLOVE TJ and this series :)
ReplyDeleteI like so many others love everything Tj Klune, Wookiee cry face included.
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ReplyDeleteLove TJ's genius. Really good description of how TJ's books affect most of us. Congrats to Michael on finding his Otter.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have a favorite flash-back book but I do remember the one that got me started reading again after 20 years or so of not reading for pleasure. I've moved on from that genre now but I still remember the name of the book, the author and many details of the story. I'll be forever grateful to the friend who loaned me the book and told me I HAD to read it.
ReplyDeleteGreat review of Bear, Otter and The Kid. I've had this book in my TBR pile for way too long; I need to move it to the top.
Nice review, heartfelt, but I have to be one that passes on Klune. I understand how well he writes, but I can't past that this book in particular was a rip off of another one. I was all for Klune but then read some reviews on this, some going to the extent of listing 20-30 parallels that were just too coincidental and major to dismiss. I have yet to see an adequate explanation of all of these. Instead it's dismissed mostly by no one mentioning it. Klune may write well, and this may have come from his experience, but he didn't need to copy a story structure and make just slight changes to names and circumstances. Maybe you saw this and can enlighten me. But until then, I'm at least sticking to my principles.
ReplyDeleteNice review, and glad you found your Otter!
ReplyDeleteI do not have a favorite flash back book. I have not read that many.
ReplyDeleteFavorite flashback book. There's lots of books I go back and reread. One of my favorites is Russian prey by Sandrine Gasq Dion.
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