Coffee2words

Bear naked is a different type of shifter story. Very much still in Rachel's chosen genre of YA, this book shows very clearly how one small thing can set you apart from others when at high school. 

Gender, sexuality and being ostracised for things you can't help were some of the main themes within this paranormal YA book. 

Being one of the first books I've read with gender queer characters, I thought things might get confusing, but Rachel did a great job of not only ensuring that the characters were all in order, but also showing the reader the beauty of being confident in your sexuality, no matter how much it might rankle the general public and other characters in the book.

Amanda's character was strong, yet conflicted, awkward yet surprisingly confident and brilliantly cast in the story. She portrayed the strengths any kid who was bullied at school wished they'd had, as well as displaying all those normal teenaged emotions. She was a mess of emotions at time, made rash decisions and followed her gut, even when it lead down some dark troubling paths.

Some of the story was a bit cliche (mostly the information about the wolves), but with a few different aspects thrown in, it kept me reading. I did get a little bored with all the school day information, this reached my threshold of annoying at about 45-50%, but shortly after that, the action began in ernest and I soon forgot about the banality of school. If I were to edit this, I'd consider trying to shorten the length of time spent covering Amanda and her friends at school. It might drop some readers early on.

All in all, this was a little quirky, and a little queer, but Bear Naked should appeal to most readers.

A few things I noticed:

15% - ...he can't (get) enough of this...
62% - she admired his his (delete second his) slender...

**Note: I was provided an electronic copy of this book in return for an honest review**