Bear

Phillips (author of 2019 National Book Award finalist Disappearing Earth) returns with a strong, melancholy novel exploring the bonds and limitations of sisterhood. Sam and her older sister Elena have been caring for their mother, who is terminally ill, for years and are both trapped in minimum-wage jobs and drowning in debt. Bonded by the abuse, isolation, and pain they endured in childhood, the sisters feel that outsiders are not to be trusted and made plans years ago to leave their hometown behind once their mother died. Sam and Elena’s plans are thrown into disarray, however, when a bear begins appearing near their home. Elena is entranced by what she believes is a gentle, maybe even magical creature, while Sam fears for her family’s safety. As Elena grows closer to the bear, and Sam becomes increasingly wary of the animal, the sisters’ bond is strained by their inability to understand one another as well as by past secrets coming to light.