By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: I should let you know that because this book refers to events from the previous volume, Hope in Paris, I suggest that you read that review first and be forewarned that this review contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the first book. Proceed with caution.
The plush bears and their attached humans are back in the second volume of Donnalyn Vjota's The Teddy Bear Chronicles Series, Chloe's Crusade. and this time they have added a couple of new bears to their Comfort Circle and some new humans with new conflicts. More trouble arrives and the stuffed ones are caught up in from their furry feet all the way up to their adorable wide eyes.
Things have changed since our last encounter with the bears and humans. Love Bear’s human owner Richard and his girlfriend, Tori have married, Tori’s mental health has improved, and they adopted two of the orphans from the orphanage where Tori worked under the name of Rachel Verona. Fair Bear’s human friend, Kelli, who is also Tori’s sister, has recovered from her abusive relationship with her ex Mark and married Detective Sidney Lukas. Both couples live in Paris in close proximity to each other and are pretty tight.
But there are some new problems on the horizon overseen by two new members of the Fur Squad. One is Tiny Bear, a small bear hanging on a keychain belonging to FBI agent Chloe Stodgson, Tori and Kelli’s friend, who is investigating a drug ring out of Venezuela. The other bear is Rocco Bear who lives with the family of Santi Alesso including him, his wife Anna, and daughter Kiara whom Rocco affectionately calls “Munchkin.” Chloe’s investigation ties all of these characters together as the Alessis have to join Witness Protection because of their proximity to organized crime and Chloe needs help from a scientist to make fake drugs to trap the dealers and an outside police officer with experience in narcotics. Luckily Richard and Sidney respectively fit that bill.
This book is almost as good as its predecessor however it loses a lot of the charm and magic of the original. This intricate plot involving drug deals, criminal investigations, stalkers, organized crime, and assassinations comes out of an entirely different genre and runs away from the original premise of bears talking about the personal dramas and conflict of humans. There are some genuine moments of suspense particularly while Chloe is dealing with betrayal within her team, the Alessis have to go on the run for their lives, and Kelli and Tori receive gifts and break ins from a potential stalker. But these plots could be within any book that doesn't need inanimate toy bears to narrate it.
Much of the conflict of the previous book lay in the bear’s inability to understand the subtleties and struggles within their human companions. Their narrative voices hover between childlike curiosity and wizened understanding with the occasional sardonic and humorous quip at their friend’s expense. This book throws a Thriller plot, actually several of them, around and reduces the bears to side characters whose narration becomes muted. They are just reporting the on the scene action as would any generic first person or third person human narrator.
That's not to say that there isn't anything to recommend in this book. To their credit, the characters, both real and stuffed, are still just as memorable as they were in the previous book.
There are some great moments where Tiny, the little adrenaline junkie, gets excited on “helping out” with the case even though its main involvement ends at just hanging on Chloe's belt while she does the real work. Tiny thinks of itself as a Sherlock Holmes in a bear suit and takes pride in being part of an awesome investigative team like when the boss calls Chloe and her partner, Sanchez in for a private conference. Tiny reminds us that she actually has two partners and insists that it is an important member of the investigation team. One of Tiny’s most adorable moments is when it reacts with jubilation and glee when it finds itself pictured in a news story about Chloe's investigation. Okay granted the pic just got the top of its head but it counts!
Rocco is a tough little guy who is protective of his family, especially “Munchkin.” He has issues with her parents and when the family is forced to separate, Rocco ends up with them instead of Kiara. He has to witness the Alessis change their names, relocate possibly forever, watch what they say because they are being monitored, and take their anger and discomfort out on each other. Rocco sees their flaws magnified in this stressful situation, particularly Santi’s quickness to anger and infidelity. Rocco reacts with fear and anxiety but is also surly towards Santi whom it holds responsible for this mess. Rocco acts like an angry adolescent holding trauma inside a tough exterior that tries to brush off fear, worry, and hurt but only increases their vulnerability.
The original bears also have some great moments. Love Bear accompanies Richard to work as he prepares the drugs and responds with the usual support and humor at its geeky human friend (When Richard yells, “Fiddlesticks!” Love responds with embarrassment that his human is an 80 year old in the body of a man in his 30’s.). Love is proud when Richard makes a breakthrough and terrified when it sees someone break into the office to tamper with Richard’s work.
Fair is enamored with Kelli and Sydney’s romance but is worried when Kelli’s life is in danger. It also empathizes with her concern about Sydney when he's on the job, always ready with a comforting snuggle as she sits down for movie night to get her mind off of her troubles. Even our old friend Sleepy Time Bear is back to remind us that it is doing fine while still living at Tori’s old orphanage and comforting children who can't sleep.
While Chloe's Crusade is a near miss with its thriller plots and abandonment of the original narrative structure, this second volume still has enough warmth, humor, and heart to make it bearable.
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