The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson Review

Hey ForeverBookers, 

I’ve just finished “The Girl Who Speaks Bear” by Sophie Anderson and I really enjoyed it. It was an easy middle-grade, stand-alone read but it had a serious message behind the text. 

“The Girl Who Speaks Bear” is about our FMC, Yanka and how she believes she’s different from everyone else around her. She doesn’t like being different. Does this change throughout the novel? She also has three animal companions that she meets throughout the story, as well as a faithful companion in Mousetrap. He’s a squirrel that she tames from before the novel starts. She can trust Mousetrap, maybe more than any other character. She uncovers secrets about herself and makes discoveries that change who she is as a girl.

I read “The Girl Who Speaks Bear” for a few readathons. They were:

Reading Rivalry - Light on the Cover - Yanka is holding a light on the cover, while she follows Mousetrap, her friendly weasel. 

Always Fully Booked 2026 Reading Challenge - A Book With An Illustrated Cover - there’s a cartoon of Yanka, carrying a torch on the cover.

Always Fully Booked On The Cover Challenge - A lantern/lamppost - As I said above, Yanka is carrying a lantern!

Spoilers Below…

“They call me Yanka the Bear. Not because of where I as found — only a few people know about that. They call me Yanka the Bear because I’m so big and strong.

I tower above all the other twelve-year-olds, and most of the grown-ups too. And I’m stronger than everyone. Even the ice-cutters and the wood-choppers and the few hunter-gatherers who are brave enough to dip into the Snow Forest.” 

“The Girl Who Speaks Bear” starts with our FMC, Yanka as just an ordinary girl. Or that’s what she thinks she is at the beginning of the novel. What she learns is that she is indeed a bear, or was a bear in her previous life. Her human Mamochka took her in and brought her up and moulded her into the human girl she is today. She starts to become a bear after she’s bullied by girls at a festival in her village. She makes the decision to leave home to look for answers and makes discoveries along the way as to why she is the way she is. 

“My family,” I gasp. The word takes me by surprise, because I’m not thinking about my birth parents who I never knew, or my grandmother sat beside me now. I’m thinking about Mamochka, who took me in and has always been there for me, Anatoly, who makes me smile with magical stories, Sasha, who walks by my side and accepts me as I am, and Mousetrap, who fits so perfectly around my neck and calls me his human.

I can’t believe I’ve never used the word family to describe them before. Regrets crowd in around me as I realize I’ve been searching for something I already had: a family, a home, a place I belong.” 

On her voyage of discoveries, Yanka is joined by animal friends. Mousetrap, the weasel is the cutest and funniest character in my opinion. I laughed a few times reading his lines.  

“Are you talking to Mousetrap?” Elena’s eyes widen. 

I nod, “Ever since I grew these legs, I’ve understood him.”

“That’s amazing.” Elena beams. “I wish I could talk to animals. What does he say?”

“Tell her that if she listened properly she might understand.” Mousetrap’s whiskers twitch with annoyance, “And that it’s impolite to disrupt a cod fishing expedition.”

“He mostly talks about cod.” I glance up at the Blue Mountain and sigh. My feet are itching to climb it, but Mousetrap is looking from me to the river with shining, eager eyes. I’ve waited my whole life to find the story to my past. I suppose I could wait a few minutes longer — for Mousetrap.” 

This is a solid friendship, between Yanka and Mousetrap. Yanka started to grow bear legs at the beginning of the book. That’s what set her off on her quest! Yanka makes friends with a young girl, Elena too. She’s the daughter of a Babushka that travels in a house with chicken legs. All Mousetrap is interested in is his love of fish as well as his love for Yanka. This was cute as well as funny. 

As I said, above Yanka makes discoveries. One of these is learning who her father is. This shocked me. I won’t reveal who he is here, but it was a touching reveal. He was once a bear but changed into a human. Also, she meets her bear grandmother, Tsarina as a bear. 

If there is one downside to the book, it’s that the overall battle at the end is resolved really quickly. There’s a huge lead up to it and it’s resolved in a couple of pages. I know it’s a middle grade book but I would have liked a little more of a conflict. There’s a slight plot twist at the end too, with a tree that I don’t want to spoil. 

Overall, I enjoyed “The Girl Who Speaks Bear.” It was a heart lifting read that was cute and easy. The quest element was done well, but the ending was rushed I felt. That’s why I’m giving “The Girl Who Speaks Bear” 3 stars!

I’m reading the first Binti volume by Nnedi Okorafor next so stand by for my review of that, coming soon…