| Touching Spirit Bear (rack) | 
 enlarge | Author: Ben Mikaelsen
Publisher: HarperTeen
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $3.20
You Save: $3.79 (54%)
New (39) Used (11) from $3.04
Avg. Customer Rating:  281 reviews
Sales Rank: 25725
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 3.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0060734000
EAN: 9780060734008
ASIN: 0060734000
Publication Date: January 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New! Immediate Shipment!
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Amazon.com Review
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
Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 276 more reviews...
 Great book October 27, 2008
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
You don't need to be a kid to enjoy this October 6, 2008
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.
Good Quick Read August 8, 2008
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!
Accepting Responsibility For One's Actions August 1, 2008
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.
Excellent book and lessons for all ages July 20, 2008
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!
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