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Touching Spirit Bear Review

Ben Mikaelsen's Touching Spirit Bear is the gripping tale of Cole Matthews, juvenile delinquent who's about to be sentenced to jail time for assaulting a fellow student. Tough-as-nails Cole feels like the world is out to get him and it's his right to smash senseless all who defy him; his alcoholic father beats him, and his alcoholic mother enables it by keeping silent. Cole blames everyone but himself for his anger.

Cole's Tlingit parole officer Garvey insists on trying an alternative to jail time called Circle Justice. This ancient healing ritual is based on the Native American / First Nations practice of having the accused perform a vision quest and community service in order to address the roots of his anger and to try and offset the harm he's caused. Cole puts on a show, hoping that the yearlong banishment on an Alaskan island offers the chance to escape.

Once on the remote Alaskan island, Cole lashes out and seeks escape, only to find himself stranded and angry. He runs into a large white bear: a Spirit Bear, an animal sacred to Native Americans. Cole is outraged that the bear doesn't fear him, and attempts to kill it with devastating consequences.

The remainder of Touching Spirit Bear chronicles Cole's rehabilitation from his injuries, along with his newfound empathy towards Peter, the student whom he assaulted. Peter is left with permanent brain damage and severe depression, and Cole thinks he knows a way to help him get over his fear and anger.

Touching Spirit Bear is at heart a story of wilderness survival, but it also teaches respect for one's ancestors and for nature. Cole learns to dance animal dances based on creatures he's observed in the wilderness; each improvised dance teaches him some strength of the animal. He soaks in a freezing pond to still his thoughts and carries a large stone up a hill, representing his ancestors, then rolls it down, releasing his anger. This might sound preachy and touchy-feely, but it works in the harsh context of the wilderness as Cole gradually learns to control his anger. The Tlingit (Garvey and Edwin) aren't represented as "perfect"; each is atoning for some crime committed in the past. Garvey in particular served five years in jail and wasn't offered the healing that Circle Justice provides.

The story does contain some graphic moments (the brutal beating of Peter, Cole's mauling), but uses violence sparingly. The powerful nature imagery really brought the story to life. This would be a good pick for those who enjoy wilderness survival tales such as Hatchet, Island of the Blue Dolphins or Julie of the Wolves (rack).

Touching Spirit Bear Feature

ISBN13: 9780060734008
Condition: New
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Touching Spirit Bear Overview

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.

Touching Spirit Bear Specifications

Cole Matthews is angry. Angry, defiant, smug--in short, a bully. His anger has taken him too far this time, though. After beating up a ninth-grade classmate to the point of brain damage, Cole is facing a prison sentence. But then a Tlingit Indian parole officer named Garvey enters his life, offering an alternative called Circle Justice, based on Native American traditions, in which victim, offender, and community all work together to find a healing solution. Privately, Cole sneers at the concept, but he's no fool--if it gets him out of prison, he'll do anything. Ultimately, Cole ends up banished for one year to a remote Alaskan island, where his arrogance sets him directly in the path of a mysterious, legendary white bear. Mauled almost to death, Cole awaits his fate and begins the transition from anger to humility.

Ben Mikaelsen's depiction of a juvenile delinquent's metamorphosis into a caring, thinking individual is exciting and fascinating, if at times heavy-handed. Cole's nastiness and the vivid depictions of the lengths he must go to survive after the (equally vivid) attack by the bear are excruciating at times, but the concept of finding a way to heal a whole community when one individual wrongs another is compelling. The jacket cover photo of the author in a bear hug with the 700-pound black bear that he and his wife adopted and raised is definitely worth seeing! (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter

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Customer Reviews

Good survival story for young male readers, decent picture of restorative justice principles - Kurt Conner - South Hadley, MA USA
I participate in a restorative justice program similar to the one Mikaelsen describes, and I read this book on the recommendation from a fellow volunteer. It is, first and foremost, a novel for young adult readers, so it never claims to be outstanding literature, but it succeeds as an exploration of personal growth and development that can (hopefully) occur for participants in restorative/circle justice groups. Essentially, the story follows an angry young man as he commits a violent crime and then engages in a dialogue designed to restore the community and reveal his connections to those around him. The morality is a bit heavy-handed (one character, Edwin, never speaks except to dispense his traditional Native American views and occasionally offer hints as to a troubled past), but it is presented with honesty and respect, and I recommend the book to volunteers and potential volunteers. I was personally a bit uncomfortable with the Circle of Life spirituality presented, as it is not entirely consistent with Biblical Christianity (even if all creation is connected in a circle that demands respect, God is sovereign over that circle and not somehow just a part of it), but the basic messages about love and forgiveness and respect and healing are quite beautiful and can easily be related to a more Biblical analysis of the protagonist's situation and his needs.

Also, as a simple survival adventure story, this book draws favorable comparisons to the classic Hatchet, so I recommend this book even for adolescents who will skip the emotional struggles and focus on the storms and the mauling and the shelter-building and bug-eating.

Touching Spirit Bear Book Review - Scott B. Perry - Bristol, Connecticut United States
I read Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen and I loved it.
The book is about a teenager named Cole Mathews who has anger issues that lead him to commit many crimes wihtin the city of Minneapolis. He decided to brag about his latest crime and then a classmate turned him in. Cole denied everything and then beat up the kid who turned him in, a boy named Peter Driscal. Cole applied for Circle Justice afterward, a system of justice that promotes forgivness instead of punishment. Cole failed and was banished to a remote Alaskan island where the real story begins. At the begining of Cole's banishment, he burned down the hut Garvey and Edwin made and failed at escaping. He then provoked and was mauled by a Spirit Bear he saw repeatedly before that. After returning to the island from a hospital, he was able to heal inside and decided to try to help Peter heal. Peter came and was showing no kindness to Cole for most of the time. But finaly at the end, when they both saw the spirit bear, they became friends.
This book sadly has little to no examples of simile or metaphor in it.
The book has lots of imagery though, and I can give a few examples. One says:"Cole's stomach churned and cramped harder". Another says:"Cole squirted on a glop of ketchup and then devoured his hot dog.
The characterization in this book is rich. For example, Cole goes from a violent, rough, delinquent to a gentle, thoughtful boy.
The plot can get a little twisted with all the flashbacks and areas of description that goes so deep that you forget whats happening.
The book's flashbacks are exeptable since they provide good back story, insight, and answers to questions.
The book uses personification on the animals, and sometimes the environment and it makes things interesting. Like when Cole has to explain his animal dances and it is used astoundingly.
The dialogue is filled with powerful sayings and language.
I loved this book in the end.

Amazing - -
This book is amazing. It's about a total rebel who thinks everyone hates him. In the beginging he beats up this kid and curb stomps him it's so cool.

Excellent book for Middle School Boys - ked - massachusetss
My son is 12, and really hates to read.

He loved this book so much, he was constantly updating me on the story.

I do not enjoy reading either (not fiction anyway). My attention needs to be grabbed by page 3, or I'm not going any further.

I decided to read the book at the same time as my son, and loved it!

I am so glad my son finally found something to read that was enjoyable.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 29, 2010 05:13:05

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Sunday, August 29, 2010