Bearstone

Bearstone, published in 1989 by author Will Hobbs, is a coming-of-age adventure story for middle-grade readers. It describes half Ute, half Navajo teenager Cloyd Attcity’s quest to escape his dull, constrained life and find purpose and meaning in the wilderness. With the help of his mentor, rancher Walter Landis, Cloyd’s search leads to a spiritual adventure in the high country and a dramatic struggle to protect a grizzly bear from a professional big-game hunter.

Bearstone is the first of two books about Cloyd, Walter, and the grizzlies. It was Hobbs’s first big success as a writer and remains one of the most celebrated of his nearly two-dozen novels. Hobbs’s books have garnered more than 20 awards, including places on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 best books for young adult readers. Many of the author’s works have been translated into other languages.

The ebook version of the 2004 Aladdin Paperback edition forms the basis for this study guide.

Plot Summary

Cloyd Attcity, age 14, runs away yet again from a group home for Native Americans in Durango, Colorado, and hitchhikes to Window Rock, Arizona, where he locates his long-lost father, Navajo Leeno Attcity.