"I know you might be thinking, “Dude, another animal book? It's only the third month of this gig and you're already doing bears.” True, but wait! This book is much more than a reflection on ursids, much like another book I loved, Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton, was so much more than tales of a leaping lagomorph.

Trina Moyles newest book, Black Bear, is poignant, heartbreaking and beautiful. Yes, there's a good deal of fascinating information on North America's black bear, but this lyrical reflection on youth, siblings and addiction never gets bogged down in too much biology for the average reader. Nor, too much family stuff for the more outdoorsy-focused, to be honest.

Born in northern Canada, Moyles was raised around wildlife since her father was the local game warden. Skunks, coyotes and, yes, bears were part of her life, as was her ever-present older brother, Brendan. As they both navigated the resource-extraction boom of the 1990s, the impact of changing personalities, partisan politics, economic upheaval and environmental destruction all begin to forever alter the land, their family and their lives. Moyles is an honest writer, never one to whitewash family secrets or individual failings, even her own.

I found reading this book a gorgeous trip to a land so different from our desert home and yet the universal themes of love, growth and change (and yeah, the cool bears!!) enchanted me. 4.5 Jags!"

- Bill