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By the way, I am quite a slow reader. I read this book in 1.5 days.


One of the best   November 3, 2003
I have read a lot of books, and Gentle Ben is one of my favorites. There are a lot of books that have a story somewhat like this one, but this one stuck out. It is a good story about a kid named Mark and his pet bear named Ben. It may seem weird to have a pet bear, but this story takes place in an Alaskan fishing city. His dad makes a living by fishing salmon every year on a boat called the "Far North". Mark saves the bear from his evil neighbor, who keeps him chained up with little food and no outside light. The bear isn't accepted by the community, so Mark has to get rid of him. By reading this book, you will find out how Mark and Ben accomplish being together. It is a wonderful story about a boy and his pet.


Gentle Ben   June 7, 2002
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The story takes place in Alaska just before the salmon season. In this part of Alaska this is the only time of year the town is full of people. It starts with a boy named Mark Anderson who is secretly hanging around a brown bear that has been chained up and not properly taken care of by a man named Fog Benson. After Marks parents Karl and Ellen find out about this they are angry but eventually they let him buy it from Fog so he can have it for himself. To pay for the bear Mark helps his dad with the fishing later Fog and some men attack Ben and then Ben hurts Fog Benson. This causes the whole town to be scared of Ben and they eventually have to take him and let him free on an island. Karl Anderson and another one of his fishing friends Claywater decide to help deliver the mail by boat to another city while out they get caught in a storm and Claywater dies. There boat is also destroyed. Since they don't have a boat anymore Karl Anderson takes a job at a fishing trap on an island where they meet up with Ben and protect him from Fog Benson and his hunting trips. In the end the hunters leave him alone and Ben lives safely on the island waiting for the Andersons to return next fishing season.


The Best Book I have ever read.   December 17, 2001
I am reading this book for a school project and I found it really got better. At first the book was just a bunch of confusing words, but soon found to love it. Even if I have to do papers on it at least I have a bit of fun.


HORRIBLE!   May 19, 2001
 0 out of 2 found this review helpful

I think this book was TERRIBLE. It was boring. It was a little exciting in a few parts but listen to this. A boy finds s bear abused, wants to protect it, buys the bear, everyone thinks he's dangerous and is sent to live on an island. YAWN! On top of all of that, theres a lot of dying. What a WONDERFUL BOOK TO GET! It was a school book that everyone read together. Torture! I highly reccomend you DON'T read this book.