By Jess Ward, Staff Writer
Navigating relationships is a challenge faced by everyone, but especially those in the throes of young adulthood and growing up. As we move forward in life, we expect to find our perfect person, someone who just gets you. But what happens if that person doesn’t exist? What if every new beginning is worse than the last?
Pamela Ribon and Cat Farris take on these questions in their graphic novel, My Boyfriend is a Bear. There’s no metaphor here, the protagonist Nora really starts dating a bear. They meet each other in the woods and reconnect when she finds him going through her garbage after being dislocated by forest fires. Their relationship takes off from there. Nora has had some not-so-nice boyfriends before and is willing to try anything to find happiness with her partner.
As they navigate both the mundane and the bizarre, bringing the bear home to meet her parents, the reader finds pieces of themselves and their story in Nora and the bear. For anyone who’s faced familial disapproval, overbearing friends or creepy ex-boyfriends, My Boyfriend is a Bear will resonate. Ribon and Farris combine playful and colorful drawings with meaningful and relatable characters to offer a truly one-of-a-kind novel.
If you have any books you want to see reviewed, suggestions can be sent to [email protected]. For those who want to read along, I will be reviewing Alicia Malone’s, The Female Gaze next week.