I'm going to jump right to the bottom line on this one, since we're getting close to Christmas. If you like a sweet, spiritually uplifting and clean story or have someone on your gift list for whom you're looking for a nice, clean, uplifting book, grab a copy of Emory's Gift.
Emory's Gift is narrated by 13-year-old Charlie Hall. Since Charlie's mother passed away, his grief-stricken father has become withdrawn and sullen, seldom speaking to his son, who desperately needs reassurance and support after their painful loss. On top of his uncomfortable home life and private grief, one of Charlie's former friends has taken to bullying him. But, when Charlie encounters a grizzly bear in the woods, an unusual friendship begins.
There's a lot more to Emory's Gift than just a boy befriending a bear (and a new human friendship that helps Charlie recover) but it's so magical that I'm afraid to say much more. Suffice it to say, Emory is no ordinary bear and some very interesting things happen. Bruce Cameron is a skilled and often surprising writer who has a knack for writing deeply touching stories.
I wish I could tell you more, but I'm afraid anything else I say will ruin the read so I'm just going to keep this review extremely short. I do think the denouement was a tiny bit of a let-down because I was hoping for something a little different, but upon reflection it obviously didn't dampen my feelings about Emory's Gift. As soon as I finished it, I recommended it on Facebook (very unusual -- I usually just link up to my blog reviews and don't say much about my reading, otherwise, on Facebook) and in my online book group. A very moving, emotional and somewhat spiritual read, highly recommended.
I'll save other news for later, since I've got a busy day ahead of me. Happy Reading!
©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
If I was a bullied kid, the first thing I would do would be train my bear and sic it on my bully! I am guessing that that did not happen in this novel? Or else it probably wouldn't be quite so "deeply touching" as you say. :)
ReplyDeleteCath,
ReplyDeleteLOL Nope, it's a sweet story. The bear actually stops the boy from doing something he shouldn't, at one point. He's a very special bear. :)
This sounds like the perfect book for a woman I know who loves a good clean read with emotion. Glad that you recommended this one and enjoyed it. I will be looking for it this holiday season! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteZibilee,
ReplyDeleteWahoo! I hope she loves it as much as I did. I'm not even sure what I expected, but I thought Emory's Gift was just wonderful. Once I got into it, my day was shot. I couldn't put it down.
Thanks Nancy for yet another wonderful review.
ReplyDeleteHey Cindi!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. I love Bruce's books. Can't wait to see what he comes up with, next. :)
Sounds great, I heard on The Book Report an interview that they had with Bruce, if you want to go have a listen go to http://www.bookreportradio.com/archives.html. There are many great interviews with other authors.
ReplyDeleteKeep reading!
BookWormKel
I'm busy listening to the audio book of Emery's Gift, after hearing about the book on Elaine Charles's radio show 'The Book Report' and I heard the interview between her and Bruce Cameron. Cameron is a lovable guy and quite open about his life. he says that a movie is going to be made of one of his books, I think it's the one called 'A dogs Purpose'. His wrote the screen play for the movie. Cameron says that everyone is expecting him to write stories about animals, which because he does it so well, I'm happy with that.
ReplyDeleteThis book is absolutely fantastic! I was a huge fan of "A Dog's Purpose," written by the same author, and I can say without reservation that this one is every bit as satisfying. I am always nervous when an author I like decides to go in a different direction like this, but "Emory's Gift" is proof in my eyes that this author has more stories to tell. Personally, I'll be reading W. Bruce Cameron novels as long as he writes them.
ReplyDelete