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A review by jugglingpup
Bear Boy: The True Story of a Boy, Two Bears, and the Fight to Be Free by Justin Barker
4.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
So I am all about saving animals. I am the first person to leap from a car to see if I can save an animal in the street. I have been late to work and lost all of my cookies bribing stray dogs into my car and getting them medical care. My boss is so used to this that she just asks me to save her a single cookie or send her pictures of my new friends. I am the type to bottle feed animals that are rejected by their mother and find them homes, even when my life is falling apart. The few times I skipped school, was to go to animal rights protests (I was caught on the news). So I understand a bit of what Barker did and felt. I focus more on the animals in front of me, Barker focuses more on animals that need bigger help. I respect and appreciate Barker.
The book was really quick. It very much read as middle grade or maybe young adult. I appreciated this. I loved that Jane Goodall was the one who wrote the introduction. Goodall is a HUGE name in the animal world and someone that would be beyond incredible to ever meet. Seeing her endorsing the book and her knowing of Barker was huge.
My main issue with the book is that Barker never renounced PETA or acted like they were anything but perfect. I was also a member of PETA at one point, well the young adult version. Peta has been called out for so many things from blaming dairy for Autism to flat out lying about what is happening. There have been allegations for years, I learned about that within a few weeks of joining PETA and immediately stopped. With all of those controversies around PETA it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that Barker did not at least mention the issues or say that he his organization is doing things differently. Something to recognize that the group is not perfect. Instead, if I was the right age range for this book I would have thought PETA was amazing and wanted to join. This feels false and makes me question Barker as an activist.
If you ignore my issues with PETA, then this was a great read. It helped show just how much difference one person can make if they aren’t afraid to run up a phone bill. He earned the nickname of Bear Boy at 14 years old. At 13 he was taking on a zoo that did not provide what the animals needed. This is exactly the sort of book I needed in middle school. He is very much a role model for supporting and helping animals. I may not agree with him on all points, but we can agree that animals deserve better.
I got an ARC of this book.
So I am all about saving animals. I am the first person to leap from a car to see if I can save an animal in the street. I have been late to work and lost all of my cookies bribing stray dogs into my car and getting them medical care. My boss is so used to this that she just asks me to save her a single cookie or send her pictures of my new friends. I am the type to bottle feed animals that are rejected by their mother and find them homes, even when my life is falling apart. The few times I skipped school, was to go to animal rights protests (I was caught on the news). So I understand a bit of what Barker did and felt. I focus more on the animals in front of me, Barker focuses more on animals that need bigger help. I respect and appreciate Barker.
The book was really quick. It very much read as middle grade or maybe young adult. I appreciated this. I loved that Jane Goodall was the one who wrote the introduction. Goodall is a HUGE name in the animal world and someone that would be beyond incredible to ever meet. Seeing her endorsing the book and her knowing of Barker was huge.
My main issue with the book is that Barker never renounced PETA or acted like they were anything but perfect. I was also a member of PETA at one point, well the young adult version. Peta has been called out for so many things from blaming dairy for Autism to flat out lying about what is happening. There have been allegations for years, I learned about that within a few weeks of joining PETA and immediately stopped. With all of those controversies around PETA it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that Barker did not at least mention the issues or say that he his organization is doing things differently. Something to recognize that the group is not perfect. Instead, if I was the right age range for this book I would have thought PETA was amazing and wanted to join. This feels false and makes me question Barker as an activist.
If you ignore my issues with PETA, then this was a great read. It helped show just how much difference one person can make if they aren’t afraid to run up a phone bill. He earned the nickname of Bear Boy at 14 years old. At 13 he was taking on a zoo that did not provide what the animals needed. This is exactly the sort of book I needed in middle school. He is very much a role model for supporting and helping animals. I may not agree with him on all points, but we can agree that animals deserve better.