Touching Spirit Bear

Touching Spirit Bear (Mikaelsen, Ben; 2001; New York: Harper Collins; 241 pages; ISBN 9780380977444)

This story begins with a description of a very angry 15-year-old Cole Matthews arriving by boat at the remote corner of Alaska that will be his home for the next year.  Guilty of brutally beating a classmate, Cole thinks he is pulling one over on the system by agreeing to a year of banishment and intense survival training instead of being locked up.  The arrangement is part of “circle justice,” a system that focuses on healing after a violent crime rather than punishment, but Cole’s commitment to healing is fraudulent.  He does not feel remorse for his crime any more than he feels affection toward his distant, abusive parents.  The only emotion he truly feels is anger.

Cole overestimates his ability to skip out on his consequences, and his disrespectful, hostile attitude leads to a vicious attack by a large “spirit bear” that leaves him close to death.  Only when he reaches this desperately low point does Cole begin to think about what has brought him here, and how he will get past it if that is still possible.

Many people are ready to give up on Cole—and he makes it easy for them to do so with his lack of contrition or civility—but his parole officer and a Tlingit Indian elder have enough faith in Cole to try to help him learn other ways of dealing with the path he has chosen up to this point.  This novel addresses themes of survival, forgiveness, trust and respect for nature through a captivating story line and clear, concise, compelling writing.  It is a story that can penetrate the hardest of hearts and will appeal to a wide variety of readers.