Bringing Me Back

Written by Beth Vrabel

A boy's quest to save a trapped bear may lead to his own redemption.

4.2 Goodreads · 128 ratings

256 pages· 52,613 words· Est. 7.5 hour read· ~680L

$19.99Save 5%

In stock. Also at Amazon.

Bookroo's summary

Noah's life is a mess—his mom's in jail, he's living with her boyfriend, and he's blamed for the school's football shutdown. When he discovers a bear with its head stuck in a bucket, Noah sees a reflection of his own struggles. As the bear weakens, Noah becomes determined to save it, despite everyone else giving up. In his mission to rescue the bear, Noah must confront his past mistakes and current challenges. Can helping the bear lead to his own salvation, or will he remain a lost cause like everyone believes?

From the publisher

Noah is not having a good year.

His mom is in prison, he’s living with his mom’s boyfriend—who he’s sure is just waiting until his mother’s six month sentence is up to kick him out—and he’s officially hated by everyone at his middle school, including his former best friend. It’s Noah’s fault that the entire football program got shut down after last year.

One day, Noah notices a young bear at the edge of the woods with her head stuck in a bucket. A bucket that was almost certainly left outside as part of a school fundraiser to bring back the football team. As days go by, the bear is still stuck—she’s wasting away and clearly getting weaker, even as she runs from anyone who tries to help. And she’s always alone.

Though Noah ignores the taunts at school and ignores his mother’s phone calls from jail, he can’t ignore the bear. Everyone else has written the bear off as a lost cause—just like they have with Noah. He makes it his mission to help her.

But rescuing the bear means tackling his past—and present—head-on. Could saving the bear ultimately save Noah, too?

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