Pearly Everlasting
Set during the Great Depression, an immersive and enchantingly atmospheric novel about a girl and a bear raised as sister and brother in a remote logging camp, and the lengths to which they'll go to protect each other.
New Brunswick, 1934. When a cook in a logging camp finds an orphaned baby bear, he brings it home to his wife, who names the cub Bruno and raises him alongside her newborn daughter, Pearly. Growing up, Pearly and Bruno share a special bond and become inseparable. While life in the camp can be perilous--loggers are regularly injured or even killed--the Everlasting family form a close-knit community with the woodsmen, who accept and embrace the tame young bear.
But all that changes when a new supervisor arrives, a ruthless profiteer who pushes the workers to their breaking point and abuses Bruno. When the man is found dead in a ditch, the blame falls on the bear; soon after, Bruno is kidnapped and sold to an animal trader. Determined to rescue the only brother she has ever known, Pearly, now a teenager, sets off alone on a hazardous journey through the forest--her first trip to "the Outside"--to find him. In the harrowing quest to bring him home through miles of ice and snow, eluding malevolent spirits and the cruelty of strange villagers, she will discover new worlds and a strength she never knew she possessed.
Steeped in rural folklore and superstition, and set against the backdrop of an enchanting woodland, Pearly Everlasting is a story about the triumph of good over evil, the beauty of the natural world, and the bonds that cannot be broken.
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Tammy Armstrong is the author of five books of critically acclaimed and award-winning poetry and two novels published in Canada, and one of her poems was finalist for a National Magazine Award. Her work has appeared in Canadian Geographic, Nimrod, Prairie Fire, and New England Review, among others, and Pearly Everlasting is her US debut novel. A former Fulbright scholar, Armstrong holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and a Ph.D. in Literature and Critical Animal Studies from the University of New Brunswick. She lives in a lobster fishing village on the south shore of Nova Scotia.
"Well-wrought touches of the fantastic enhance this tale....Armstrong, who has published five books of poetry and two previous novels, tells their tale in lyrically striking prose and makes its fairy tale elements work by grounding them in the grim realities and stunning beauties of life in a Depression-era logging camp. A campfire story about a girl whose brother is a bear becomes a warmly enchanting novel." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Enchanting . . . . The adventure brims with folklore and superstition, as Pearly musters the courage to overcome her fears, and there are many lighthearted moments, such as when Pearly convinces Bruno to climb into the backseat of a car. This gentle story is sure to win Armstrong new fans." -- Publishers Weekly
"Armstrong's prose is shot through with Pearly's unique vernacular, and readers will feel the bone-cold winter and taste the blood of many blows that befall almost everyone. Meeting Pearly will change readers' minds about who is civilized and who is not." -- Booklist
"Armstrong describes camp life and deep-woods adventures with a gritty cadence evoking a world before the Acadian forest became endangered."? -- Washington Post
"An unforgettable tale of unconditional love and the powerful bond of siblings. A remarkable story, sparkling with brilliance." -- Amanda Peters, author of The Berry Pickers
"Beautifully drawn and yet as succinct and addictive as any adventure story." -- Zoe Whittall, author of The Best Kind of People and The Fake
"What a find! Pearly Everlasting is one of those novels that instantly transports you to a world that's so big hearted and full of love that you can't put it down. It's a story that will stay with me for a long long time." -- Willy Vlautin, author of The Horse and The Night Always Comes
