Justin Barker’s autobiography, Bear Boy, tells the story of an indomitable youth whose passion for animal rights grips him by the hand and never lets go. With a foreword by Jane Goodall, it becomes clear within the first few pages that this novel is to be a good one. Written for a juvenile audience, Justin’s story is both inspiring and relatable, a quality often lacking in adolescent and young adult literature. Taking place during middle and highschool, Justin began his animal activism when he discovered the appalling conditions that many animals were forced to live in at local zoos. Two in particular struck home for him, Ursula and Brutus, sibling bears who lived in a small concrete cage with improper food and were threatened to be swept away by floods from a nearby river nearly every winter. Throughout the novel, the reader grows with Justin as his fight to save the bears gains traction and his activism spreads. Sprinkling in bits of his personal life, like fighting with his parents, bullies, newfound friends, and the other woes of teen life, Barker makes his story come alive. What makes him stand out is the sheer determination and persistence that Justin exhibited from such a young age, faltering, but never giving up despite what was likely hundreds, if not thousands, telling him no. In a world where situations are so dire it seems that one person, especially not a kid, could never make a difference, Barker proves that narrative to be false. This book is the perfect read for any kid who wants to make a difference but has been told they can’t, and will serve as an inspiration to many to keep fighting for what's right.