Gretchen and the Bear

De: Carrie Anne Noble

Narrado por: Amanda S. Brown

Sixteen-year-old Gretchen has been waiting forever to trade life on a dreary orbiting station for life on gloriously regenerated Earth. Still, visiting faerie-infested Britannia is not on her agenda - especially since no human who’s ventured there has ever returned. But when her stepsister sneaks off to the island to meet a faerie boyfriend, Gretchen’s stepmother forces her to choose: Risk death to rescue the runaway, or forfeit her father’s life.

Lost in the faeries’ forest, Gretchen meets a family of bearfolk-fae, who can shift between human and bear forms. Kindhearted 17-year-old Arthur volunteers to help, while his mother, who believes Gretchen is the heroic Silverhair of faerie legend, schemes to use the girl for darker purposes.

When the quest to save the runaway proves costly, will Gretchen and Arthur find the courage to sacrifice what they hold dearest to save the ones they love most?

©2020 Carrie Anne Noble (P)2020 Carrie Anne Noble

Fairies and griffins and bears, oh my!

An enchanting futuristic fairytale for young adults and adults. In this, her third novel, Carrie Anne Noble takes us into the future where she explores the themes of love, duty, fate and cultural differences in a world where humans and fey creatures of legend try to coexist with continents between them. When young Gretchen crosses the great divide to save her sister, Ruby, she finds more than she ever imagined possible both in the world and within herself. Our whole family enjoyed it.

For those who love fairytales and science fiction.

Gretchen and the Bear I pretty unique. This is isn't a fairy tale retelling. Instead the reader is treated to a what if tale.

What if people left the planet, and all of those myths and folktales came out of hiding?

Then when humans returned, it would be like walking into faerie land.

This is a wonderfully original fantasy, so familiar with elements of many classic fairy tales easily noticed but not one that stands out as the primary tale.

the science fiction elements blend seamlessly with the folklore, creating a story that feels both new and timeless.

Narrator Amanda S. Brown brings the characters to life with her voice work. she changes her voice enough that you don't even need the dialogue tags to know who's speaking. Her natural voice is amazing too she reads Carrie Anne Nobel's words with such a sense of wonder that you feel as though she is the titular Gretchen, relating her life story to you herself.

A fun story with unexpected twists

This is a wonderful story about the lengths people will go for the ones they love, their community, friends, family, and romantic crush. I couldn’t stop thinking about the story between listening sessions. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys a relatively lighthearted story where even though life doesn’t always turn out perfect, the good guys find happiness.