The Last Bear

Written by Hannah Gold

Narrated by Stacey Glemboski

An instant classic with a bear-sized heart, Hannah Gold’s debut novel is a touching story of kindness, adventure, and forging your own path—perfect for fans of Pax and A Wolf Called Wander.

There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to a faraway Arctic outpost.

But one night, April catches a glimpse of something distinctly bear shaped loping across the horizon. A polar bear who shouldn’t be there—who is hungry, lonely and a long way from home.

An excellent choice for readers in grades 3 to 7, this fierce celebration of friendship includes full-page black-and-white illustrations throughout, as well as information about the real Bear Island and the plight of the polar bears.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063041097

Hannah Gold

Hannah Gold is the author of The Last Bear and The Lost Whale. She grew up in a family where books, animals, and the beauty of the outside world were ever present, and is passionate about writing stories that share her love of the planet. She now lives in the UK with her tortoise, her cat, and her husband and, when not writing, is busy hunting for her next big animal story as well as practicing her roar.  

Reviews for The Last Bear

[arubabookwoman · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to discover a new-to-me thriller writer, but boy was this one big flop!The murders begin as the vessel Morning Rose carries the cast of movie makers to a remote Arctic island for filming. Our pov character is Marlowe, the doctor for the cast and crew. The first murders are poisoning; some victims survive. Other victims, perhaps poisoned, perhaps not, disappear overboard. Nobody seems to care much--there's too much drinking going on, as well as much discussion as to where the producer of the film has stashed his good liquor, and how to get at it.The body count continues to rise after the group arrives on Bear Island amidst more drinking. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was when the doctor reveals an important plot point about his identity, (and his former concealment of this from the reader is very unrealistic). This changes the whole focus of the story, and it became (for me) a farce. Stay away. (Unless you're a 12 year old boy born in the 1940's).1/2 star

[delta61 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a very difficult book to keep an interest in. I wonder why he would have two characters with the same name, with a silly way to tell them apart. Made it difficult to know who he was talking about. Peaked my interest only at the end. Needed a long monologue to explain all that went on.

[stuart10er_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A pot-boiler thriller about a film crew going to an Artic island. Really they are a Nazi group of criminals trying to recover stolen items left over from WWII. Plotting is good enough if the story is trite. I loved MacLean as a kid so I thought I'd read some now to see if I still liked them. Not as much as before, but still pretty good stuff.

[bedda_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A film crew is trapped on a ship, with no way off and people dropping dead all over the place. There is suspense and surprises and people who are not always what they seem. And the narrator is interesting, and it’s fun to listen to him as he works through his suspicion of everyone and goes over the evidence for and against everyone, trying to figure out what is going on. There is a lot of dialogue, most of the book is dialogue, and it becomes what drives the story more than anything else. So, even though it brings out the tension between the characters, there are times when there doesn’t seem to be much going on. It is a mystery but there is really no way that you could possibly figure it out because there is too much you just don’t know. Until the moment when two characters get together and discuss it all. There is really no other way to get the information to the readers but to me it seemed like a rather long conversation while the story is put on hold. It’s not bad, I’m not sorry I read it, but I don’t think I would recommend it. There are a lot of others books out there that are probably more worthy of your time.

[.monkey.-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fine specimen of MacClean's writing; characters and plot both thoroughly interesting and always keeping you on your toes.

[bnielsen_30 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Et godt stykke nord for polarcirklen, Bjørneøen, ca 1965Kaptajn Imrie, styrmanden Smithy og maskinchefen Mr. Stokes fører det gode skib Morning Rose mod Bjørneøen med et filmholm om bord. Der er også kokken Haggerty, et par stewarder Moxen og Scott, andenstyrmand Oakley, elektrikermester Frederick Crispin Harbottle.Lægen Dr. Marlowe har været til søs det meste af de sidste 8 år og kan godt lide cognac. Han blev først læge som 33 årig, men har ikke afsløret hvad han lavede inden.Hele filmholdet er lidt afdanket. Filmproducer Otto Gerran, manuskriptforfatteren Heissman, instruktør Neil Divine, produktionsassistent Lonnie Gilbert, lydfolkene Josh Hendrik, John, Luke, Mark, stjernen Mary Stuart, stjernen Charles Conrad, skuespillerne Judith Hayne, Gunther Jungbeck og Jon Heyter, fotografen John Halliday, kameraassistent Cecil Golightly, regissørassistenten Sandy, scriptpigen Mary Darling - kaldet Lille Mary, filmfotografen grev Tadeusz Leszczynski, Michael Stryker - produktionsdesigner, overregissør og Gerrans svigersøn, sminkør og hårkunstner og garderobespecialist Antonio, osv. Det er svært at se ideen i at kaste dem i søsygens favn for at komme til Bjørneøen for at filme.Det bliver snart værre, for en forgiftning tager livet af Antonio og de to stewarder Moxen og Scott. Forgiftning rammer også Otto Gerran, Smithy, Oakley og et par andre, men de overlever. Marlowe er sikker på at forgiftningerne er sket med vilje, men gør gode miner til slet spil. En Halliday forsvinder sporløst fra skibet, så inden landgangen på Bjørneøen er fire allerede døde.Marlowe er egentlig udsendt for finansministeriet for at holde øje med Heissman, som har været tredobbeltagent for russerne under krigen og ser ud til at opspore nazi-skatte for dem. Smithy er også på lønningslisten. Imrie sætter holdet af på øen og kort tid efter bliver Stryker fundet død. Så er der 22 tilbage og Marlowe har de 13 som mulige mistænkte.Judith Hayes og Lonnie Gilbert når også at blive slået ihjel, inden Marlowe sætter banden skakmat.Alle i banden er stort set ude på at snyde de andre. Otto Gerran startede med at snyde Johann Heissman for dennes andel i filmselskabet. Johann var i forvejen ved at vile fordufte, så det passede ham fint, men det sagde han ikke. Goin har opdaget at Otto begår underslæb mod firmaet og har presset penge af Otto i årevis på den konto. Greven vidste lidt om dette og har derfor haft en tryg bestyrelsespost i lige så lang tid. Heyter og Jungbeck har været Ottos håndlangere med det beskidte arbejde og motivet var simpelthen at slippe af med alle dem, der pressede penge af Otto.Der kommer hjælp til stede og Heyter bliver dræbt.Noget bedaget MacLean.

[bridgey_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Only the second book I've read by the Author, the other being [The way to dusty death], which I really enjoyed. This book follows the exploits of a film crew on the way to Bear island, a remote small island in the artic circle. Written in the first person through the eyes of a Dr Marlowe we are informed of his attempts to discover a killer amongst them as people start to turn up dead.... There are a number of unexpected twists and it is interesting to see how the character views everyone with suspicion as he weighs up the possible motives. I was really looking forward to getting stuck into this as the plot sets the scene for what could have been a really tense thriller, unfortunately I just couldn't get into the book in the way I'd hoped.There is not one character that is remotely likable and this, coupled with lengthy (and often boring) dialogues made the novel just seem to drag and drag..... I'm not sure if it was just very dated and has not stood the test of time well, but I couldn't wait for it to be over.Is hasn't put me off reading further novels by Maclean, but maybe just lowered my expectations.2stars

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a slow-starting tale about a movie film crew's journey to an obscure island near the Arctic. At first it reminded me of And Then There Were None, but suddenly morphed into a story of intrigue and action. Pretty good, worth reading.

[bookwren · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The friendship between April and Bear is as real and beautiful as any friendship between two humans. Lovingly written. Includes a map of Bear Island and an Author's Note.