Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Protagonist archetypes
Synopsis
The Last Great Wilderness... There is a place where bears can live in peace, where there is sea-ice all year, where the forests are full of prey, where flat-faces never go. Polar bears Kallik and Taqqiq, black bear Lusa, grizzly Toklo, and the shape-shifting Ujurak believe that this fabled bear paradise must be the destination of their quest. But the path they follow is dangerous. The burning Smoke Mountains are more treacherous than anything the bears have faced before, and tensions run high as they encounter obstacle after obstacle. A rushing river and hostile flat-faces separate them from their goal, and a bear is pushed to the brink of death. Signs and omens point in different directions, and the bears, though traveling together, must each follow his or her own star... causing one bear to leave the group forever.But as the others travel on, they soon learn that it will take all their strength and determination to reach their destination. And, if they reach it at last, they may learn that what they thought was their quest's end is in fact a new beginning...
Is Smoke Mountain appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 9 and up.
Bears face dangerous obstacles including hostile humans, treacherous terrain, near-death experiences, and one bear leaves the group permanently. Natural animal violence and environmental dangers present throughout.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include animal death, death, and abandonment.
Who'll love this
Readers will love following the diverse group of bears on their epic quest through dangerous territory to find a legendary paradise.