The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Phillips, Julia. Bear. Hogarth, 2024.

*Note: This study guide refers to the bear as "he" instead of "it" throughout the novel, as this is largely the pronoun used in the novel.

Julia Phillips novel Bear is set on contemporary San Juan, an island located off the coast of Washington State. The novel is written from the third person point of view and in the past tense, and largely abides by a linear narrative plot structure.

Twenty-eight-year old Sam Arthur spent her summers working on the Friday Harbor ferry. She ran the snack counter, serving wealthy, elitist tourists for long hours and low wages. One night after her shift, Sam stood on the edge of the boat and saw a bear swimming through the water. When she returned to her dilapidated family home, she told her older sister Elena about the sighting. Elena initially felt scared, because bears never came to the island and because she had had nightmares about bears when she was a child.

Sam and Elena lived together with their mom, who was dying of a litany of diseases she contracted from her long career at a nail salon. The sisters did their best to care for her, always waiting for the day when she would die. She was diagnosed roughly 10 years prior, and had outlived her prognosis. Sam did not want to say goodbye to her, but often wished that they were already past her death. She was tired of living on San Juan, and believed that she and Elena would sell the house after their mom died, and move away.

Sam and Elena spent their days working their respective jobs on the ferry and at the local club. They did not make nearly enough money to cover their living expenses and their mother's medical bills. Sam often completed surveys on her phone, hoping to make a few extra dollars to contribute to the family's finances.

Then one morning, the bear showed up outside Sam and Elena's house. The sisters were terrified and hid in a corner after they called the police, asking for animal control to come to their property. When the officers arrived, they scoffed at the sisters story, suggesting that they saw a deer and her baby, and not a bear at all. After Elena left for work, Sam got in touch with Washington's fish and wildlife department. A representative named Madeline Pettit offered to meet with her and Elena about the bear.

Meanwhile, Elena began to see the bear around the area. Sam caught her conversing with him on the roadside one night when she was driving home from work. Elena assured her that there was nothing to worry about. The bear was not dangerous and she had befriended him. Sam expressed her concern, insisting that she just wanted Elena to be safe and happy and that she wanted them to be able to make a good life together. Elena argued that the bear was the good thing they had been waiting for. She saw him as a sign that life was mysterious, but beautiful. Sam accepted Elena's story, hopeful that her levelheaded sister was right.

However, when Elena began spending more and more time with the bear, Sam panicked. She started communicating with Madeline in secret about what to do. One day, Madeline brought bear spray over to the house and Sam used it on the bear when he and Elena appeared on the property together. Elena was furious.

Not long later, Elena woke Sam in the night to say that their mother had died. The sisters were devastated and felt guilty that they had not been with their mom in her final moments. In the following days, Elena assumed control of the funeral and memorial service arrangements.

On the day of the service, Sam felt upset and overwhelmed and went outside for some air. She talked to her neighbor and former classmate Danny Larsen, shocked to learn that he and Elena had been dating in secret for nearly a year. Sam stormed inside and confronted Elena. She argued that her relationship with Danny would keep them from leaving the island as they had planned. Elena stayed calm and revealed that she had no intentions of selling the house or moving.

Convinced that the bear was confusing Elena, Sam asked Danny for help taking care of the creature. Together, they ventured into the woods with Danny's gun and dog. There they encountered Elena with the bear. The dog started barking, upsetting the bear. Sam panicked and fired the gun. The bear lunged and mauled Elena's face.

Sam scattered Elena's ashes with their mom's ashes on the edge of the property. Shortly thereafter, she boarded the ferry away from San Juan. She hoped Elena had found peace, and invented a new story about their happy life together.