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Touching Spirit Bear (rack) Review
Will the attack of the Spirit Bear destroy Cole's life or save his soul? Cole Matthews has been fighting, stealing, and raising hell for years. So his punishment for beating Peter Driscal senseless is harsh. Given a choice between prison and Native American Circle Justice, Cole chooses Circle Justice: He'll spend one year in complete isolation on a remote Alaskan island. In the first days of his banishment, Cole is mauled by a mysterious white bear and nearly dies. Now there's no one left to save Cole, but Cole himself. User Submitted Touching Spirit Bear (rack) ReviewsDecember 1, 2008 Sam's seventh grade opinion "[Cole] was an innocent-looking, baby-faced fifteen-year-old from Minneapolis who had been in trouble wish the law half his life. Everyone thought he felt sorry for what he had done, and going to this island was his way of making things right. Nothing could be further from the truth." Cole Matthews is going to an Alaskan island as a result of almost killing a boy by bashing his head into the sidewalk. Cole is an emotional wreck with social and anger problems. He is accompanied by Garvey, the empathetic jail warden, and Edwin, a wise elder who cares about Cole's future. Even with their help, Cole's fate lies in his own hands. Can an attack from a strange white bear tempt fate and do what countless therapists and punishments couldn't? In this fascinating story about abuse, family values and life lessons, Ben Mikaelsen's thoughtfulness and respect for animals are brought out many times in this captivating action novel. I thought this book was great and would recommend it to any student looking for a philosophical read that they could still enjoy and connect to. Twists and turns fill the book and keep the reader off guard. December 1, 2008 Luke's seventh grade review Cole Matthews is not the type of kid you'd want to hang out with. Cole has been to ten different detention centers because of his violent actions. One afternoon, Cole decides to rob a convenience store. Cole is successful, but the next day at school, Cole brags to everyone about what he did. One kid, Peter Driscal, rats Cole out. After school, Cole beats Peter up badly. It takes six kids to stop him. For doing what Cole did, he is sent to a detention center in Minneapolis. Cole has the choice to go to a remote island in southern Alaska, or go to jail. He decides to go to the island because he thinks he can escape and he won't be locked in a small room getting served bad food. Before Cole is sent to the island, he has to attend a Circle Justice meeting. This meeting is about what Cole did and how the people think of his actions. Cole becomes very agitated from the people's thoughts of him. They think he is a bad kid. Cole has to learn how to overcome his own anger and to help Peter heal. He also has to learn that it is easier to trust someone when you forgive. Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson is a great example of character development. Almost all of the characters grow throughout the book. This book also has a lot of action in it to keep you interested. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fast paced book and to anyone who enjoys feeling relaxed. This book has two different moods and one will enjoy them both throughout the book. Touching Spirit Bear will keep you up all night reading. This is a great book. It is action-packed and will entertain anyone. December 1, 2008 A seventh grader's view How would you feel if the age of fifteen you might be headed to a jail cell? What if you had been beaten up your entire life, and you did the same to others? This is what life is like for Cole Matthews in the book Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. Mikaelsen creates a fascinating novel about a boy who wants to change. Cole is sent to a harsh, remote island in Southeast Alaska, where he is mauled by a mysterious white Spirit Bear. Cole is left with the decision of helping himself or to help Peter Driscal, whose face he has slammed into the sidewalk. After this attack, Peter is left with a slur in his speech and almost all of his coordination ruined. Of course, Peter feels a deep hatred for Cole, even though Cole wants to help him. During the course of the book, Cole realizes that he wants to change and help Peter. When asked if he will stay longer in order to help Peter, Cole doesn't know if he should get off of the island that he hates, or help Peter. After his experience, Cole learns that anybody can change, if they have the help and support of others. In this book the pages turn themselves. Anybody looking for a book about overcoming obstacles and a pairing of the unlikeliest of friends should definitely read Touching Spirit Bear. Readers everywhere will be intrigued by this story of change and friendship. November 27, 2008 TOUCHING SPIRIT BEAR Teenagers, as they stumble their way through puberty, are a handful. Rare is the teen who exits puberty just he or she entered it. It is a time of self-determination, adjustment, experimentation, questioning, change (both physical and emotional), and realization. In other words, it is a difficult time. As a society, we tend to cast off the teens who do not behave in a socially acceptable way. They are chastised, banished, and often rejected. This goes for those who are violent towards others, as well as those violent toward themselves, and those who are non-violent but just don't seem to know how to deal with society as it is. Is society guilty of ignoring the potential within even the most offensive adolescent? Is it better to jail a miscreant, or seek some sort of rehabilitation? Who is worthy of the chance at redemption, and how would anyone truly know that someone has changed? All of these questions are considered in the gripping Young Adult novel, TOUCHING SPIRIT BEAR. An extremely violent and unrepentant 15-year-old must face his toughest opponent ever as he faces down not an enormous white bear that will come close to taking his life, but rather himself (and all the baggage that comes with being him). The process of finding redemption is not a quick one, and so, Cole Matthews is given the chance to spend a year in the wild to consider his attitude towards Life and his own faults as a human being. It's tough. Really tough. But through the guidance of a supportive parole officer and a Tlingit elder, Cole learns many valuable and applicable lessons to deal with his mistreatment of others. Attitude. Of all things a teenager owns, his/her attitude is probably the hardest to accept responsibility for. Adolescents do not want to feel that they are in charge of their attitude because that way they can claim no responsibility for it. The attitude has a mind of its own. So, accepting ownership of our attitude requires that we go through a process that enlightens us to how our attitude affects what we do, and what we do affects others. TOUCHING SPIRIT BEAR might need to be required reading for teens in order to allow the seed to be planted: the seed of an idea that may grow when conditions present themselves -- the idea that how we treat others properly is our responsibility to society. Society, in turn, owes us an opportunity to make mistakes... as long as we can be given a chance to correct the mistakes we made, thereby giving us a chance to own our responsibilities to each other and to ourselves. October 27, 2008 Great book It's been a while since I have read this book, but I still remember the effect it had on me. And in all honesty I was an extremely angry child and this book helped me with that believe it or not. It is also just an amazing read in my opinion. I highly recommend this book for anyone and everyone. <3 October 6, 2008 You don't need to be a kid to enjoy this I picked up this book when I was a junior in high school and I still read it on occasion, now that I'm in college. It's one of my most favorite books in the world, I urge you to not be swayed by the target demographic age. Pick this book up, whether you're a kid or an adult. It's a book of healing that can be understood by any age group. August 8, 2008 Good Quick Read This book is about an angry kid with an alcoholic father named Cole who is abused and beats up a kid named Peter. Cole has to live on an Alaskan island by himself as part of Circle Justice. He changes with some wise help along with this experience on the island. I got into this book from the beginning! It's a page turner with a somewhat predictable ending, but a good read! August 1, 2008 Accepting Responsibility For One's Actions This is an excellent story about Cole, an angry abused boy, who was mad at the world and his personal journey of dealing with his anger and becoming a better person through Circle Justice or Restoration Justice. He beat up Peter to the point of causing him permanent harm and never took any responsibility for his actions until he faced death and began questioning his life. This is a story about helping others and how the Circle Justice system works which Native Americans practiced for years. The idea is to restore the criminal to become a good citizen and not just punish them. Instead of jail or a detention center, Cole was banished to live for a year on an island in Alaska alone. At the end of the year, the Circle Justice group, made up of all those involved, would meet again and determine if he should go to jail or not. Cole had a traumatic experience while on the island and after just three days was hospitalized after being mauled by a spirit bear. After his rehabilitation he went back. Peter tried committing suicide twice and Cole learned much while on the island, including how many mistakes he made and wanted to make things right if he could. I really liked this book a lot and had trouble putting it down. I was anxious to see what would happen next. There is no boring part in it. There are many themes running through this book such as abuse, justice, survival, anger, forgiveness, healing. July 20, 2008 Excellent book and lessons for all ages My little one had to do a book report on Touching Spirit Bear so we read it together and shared the ideas. What an excellent story, written in language that a 12 year old can understand and with an deep message of self responsibility and healing of the spirit. I highly recommend this book! June 25, 2008 troubled teenager What a moving incredible story. I went out and 4 more copies immediately to give to friends either working in child detention or who have problem teenagers. A must listen for anyone who cares about the troubled teens of today. For more Touching Spirit Bear (rack) reviews click here.
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