The powerful, humorous yet sensitive story of Jasper, a talented young artist, who learns to face his anger.
'Tender and wickedly humorous - such an important story.' KAREN FOXLEE bestselling author of Lenny's Book of Everything
Jasper Robinson-Woods is not okay - his name is too long, his mum has an annoying boyfriend, he never sees his dad, and he can't sleep because of a terrifying nightmare. Oh, and to top it off, his goldfish is dying.
Jasper is overwhelmed with bad thoughts. Are they a sign of disaster to come? The only place he feels safe is in the tree in his front yard.
But then the unimaginable happens: his nightmare comes to life and everything spirals out of control. Jasper decides it's finally time to face his nightmare.
Bear is a moving, often laugh-out-loud funny story showing that even when you hit rock bottom, you never know what, or who, is around the corner.
Winner of 2024 Storylines Tessa Duder YA Award
'Wonderfully fresh and engaging.' Tessa Duder
About the Author
Kiri Lightfoot is an NZ-based author and actor. She has worked as a scriptwriter in children's television and as an actor both for theatre and screen. She continues to work part-time in television and also runs poetry reading sessions in aged-care homes and hospitals with charity 'Active Arts'. Kiri worked for many years as a telephone counsellor with Youthline and as a volunteer mentor in an alternative education school. Bear is her first novel for young adults and was inspired by working with young people at this time. Kiri is now a mother of three school-aged children and lives in central Auckland. Her previous books are picture books: Ming's Iceberg, illustrated by Kimberly Andrews (Scholastic 2021) and Every Second Friday, illustrated by Ben Galbraith (Hodder Children's Books 2008), a shortlist in the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards 2009.
Industry Reviews
'I really enjoyed this story. I absolutely adored Jasper - what a great character and such a brilliant narrator - so smart and funny and flawed. This is such an important story and I hope it finds its way into the hands and hearts of so many young people. It is such a tender and wickedly humorous exploration of mental illness and grief and anger and how we define ourselves.' KAREN FOXLEE bestselling author of Lenny's Book of Everything
' Lightfoot takes the classic coming-of-age story and drags it through a surreal, shadowy landscape where fear takes on a life of its own. The result is unsettling, heart-wrenching, and darkly humorous. A must-read for teenagers. Dark, funny, and deeply unsettling, Bear is a book that crawls under your skin and stays there. Lightfoot has crafted a story that is as haunting as it is human - a powerful, poignant reminder that sometimes, the only way to escape your fears is to face them.' Imogan Gadd, Kete
'Wonderfully fresh and engaging.' Tessa Duder
'Very funny, very well written and an accurate look into a teenager's changing world. Get it for your reading teen.' Linda Thompson, NZ Herald
