There Will Be Bears

by Ryan Gebhart

Overview

“Debut novelist Gebhart reveals an uncanny knack for getting inside the brain of a teenage boy wrestling with changing relationships and an onslaught of disappointments.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Thirteen-year-old Tyson loves hanging out with his roughneck grandfather, Gene, who’s a lot more fun than Tyson’s former best friend, Brighton. So when Grandpa Gene prepares to move to a nursing home that can manage his kidney disease, Tyson feels like he’s losing his only friend. Not only that, but Tyson was counting on Grandpa Gene to take him on his first big hunt. So in defiance of Mom and Dad’s strict orders, and despite reports of a scary, stalking, man-eating grizzly, the two sneak off to the Grand Tetons. There will be action, there will be heart-pounding suspense, and, oh yes, there will be bears. . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763687656
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	02/23/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	683,683
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

About the Author

Ryan Gebhart says of There Will Be Bears, his first novel, "This book was inspired by a gig working at a hunting ranch in the Grand Tetons, where I got firsthand experience in field dressing an elk." Ryan Gebhart lives in Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

Debut novelist Gebhart reveals an uncanny knack for getting inside the brain of a teenage boy wrestling with changing relationships and an onslaught of disappointments. ... Fully developed characters, complex and realistic relationships (especially between Tyson and Gramps), and Tyson’s spot-on narrative voice—which balances faux bravado, risqué humor, and real emotional pain—make this story stand out.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Tyson is quirky, awkward and lovable; a perfect middle school boy. He is also, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, but his best qualities are his fierce love for his family and his unwavering desire to be true to himself. ... Occasionally salty vocabulary and adolescent innuendo are developmentally spot-on. A quirky, sweet adventure for middle school boys.
—Kirkus Reviews

Gebhart’s debut depicts the anger and emotion of adolescence without the angst; Tyson remains a likable oddball throughout. Unapologetic in his love of bears, Taylor Swift, and having his grandpa as his BFF, Tyson’s eccentricities serve both as strengths and challenges as he matures. What results is a compelling and heartfelt story with just the right amount of humor. This should appeal to fans of Jordan Sonnenblick and to middle-school boys in general. And don’t worry, there will, in fact, be bears.
—Booklist

Gebhart crafts a satisfyingly complicated realistic drama that deals with big issues. ... Tyson is a likable protagonist in a well-paced tale that will hold young readers in its grip.
—The Horn Book

Tyson eventually manages a thrilling and satisfying hunting excursion. In the end, this adventure story perfectly illustrates the complexity, awkwardness, and uncertainty of transitioning between childhood and young-adulthood.
—Library Media Connection

This charming coming-of-age story offers an elusive balance of humorous and poignant moments. Gebhart’s firsthand experience field dressing elk lends unique and dramatic details to the familiar story of a boy coming to terms with his beloved grandfather’s aging. Tyson is a likable protagonist whose transition from childhood to adulthood will be enjoyed by both boys and girls.
—VOYA

The book is strongly written, and Tyson’s emotional turmoil, which he glibly covers with barbed observations and self-deprecating humor, is painfully real. The gorily precise details of the elk kill and butchering also add compelling dimension to a familiar story of coming to terms with the debility of a beloved grandparent. Family stories and adventure tales are often relegated to separate pigeonholes, and this title offers fresh crossover appeal.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Tyson's narration lends immediacy to the emotional development... This should be an easy sell to younger middle schoolers, especially where hunting is a popular activity.
—School Library Journal

An engaging ... tale of two clean-boweled miscreants who steal away from the forces of authority to go hunting in the Grand Tetons of Wyoming. ... They emerge two days later, staggered by frights and adventures—and, in Tyson's case, newly wise about age and aging.
—The Wall Street Journal

Gebhart writes of life transitions with an irreverent and humorous touch that explodes stereotypes of both growing old and being a teen. And yes, there will be bears. Scary, exhilarating, beautiful bears.
—Richmond Times-Dispatch

From the Publisher

★ 02/17/2014
Debut novelist Gebhart reveals an uncanny knack for getting inside the brain of a teenage boy wrestling with changing relationships and an onslaught of disappointments. Thirteen-year-old Tyson’s onetime best friend is spending all his time with his football teammates, but that’s nothing compared to Tyson’s fury when his parents cancel his much-anticipated elk-hunting trip with his grandfather, due to Gramps’s health and grizzly bear attacks in Bridger-Teton National Forest. Gebhart gives readers lots to chew on, including Tyson’s realization that life isn’t fair, his recognition of Gramps’s frailty, and lingering questions about manhood. Will killing an elk, even if it means lying to his parents, make Tyson a man? (And can he remain a member of the Taylor Swift fan club?) Graphic hunting and field-dressing details may be eye-opening for readers who, like Tyson, have only hunted with a video-game controller so far. Fully developed characters, complex and realistic relationships (especially between Tyson and Gramps), and Tyson’s spot-on narrative voice—which balances faux bravado, risqué humor, and real emotional pain—make this story stand out. Ages 10–up. Agent: John M. Cusick, Scott Treimel NY. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2014-02-05
Feeling abandoned by his two closest companions, 13-year-old Tyson just wants things to go back to normal—even if that means field dressing his own elk and fighting off a man-eating grizzly bear. When Tyson's best friend, Bright, decides he would rather hang out with the cool kids, Tyson reasons that he still has his grandfather for companionship. But when his grandfather Gene moves into a nursing home and Tyson's parents cancel their big hunting trip, it is almost more than Tyson can handle. With social pressures to fit in mounting and grades rapidly sinking, things are becoming desperate. Suddenly, the hunting trip is as much about saving himself as it is about taking down a six-point bull elk. Tyson is quirky, awkward and lovable; a perfect middle school boy. He is also, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, but his best qualities are his fierce love for his family and his unwavering desire to be true to himself. It is this inner strength that carries the story through some eyebrow-raising moments. While honesty is emphasized, the lies surrounding the secret hunting trip are brushed aside as necessary for the greater good. Occasionally salty vocabulary and adolescent innuendo are developmentally spot-on. A quirky, sweet adventure for middle school boys. (Fiction. 12-14)

Kirkus Reviews