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Apr 11, 2011

karen rated it:

if we were just judging the first half of this book, the rating would be higher. the second half of this book really just irritated me, and made me wary of reading the sequel, which i have already purchased.

oops.

the first half is about an angry kid, taking out his rage on other people. he reminded me of that kid from that svu episode with luke perry and sara gilbert who was all hyperactive lunatic raaaar-child. but this kid's rage caused him to beat another boy so severely, More...

28 comments like (25 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2009

Greg added it

Cole Matthews is an angry teen who has been caught stealing and fighting for years. One day Cole runs into a fellow classmate, Peter, and fights him. During this fight Cole smashes Peter's head into the sidewalk and causes permanent brain damage. Instead of jail time or being send to a special home, Cole is offered Circle Justice: a system based on Native American traditions that attempts to provide healing for the criminal offender. Cole plays along with the sentence. It is only after he gets m More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 10, 2008

Nomi rated it:

Part survival story, part psychological healing journey about Cole who commits a devastating crime(he beats a classmate senseless) and is given "spirit justice" as part of his sentence. He journeys to a remote Alaskan island with two Tlingit elders instead of going to jail. Apparently there is some controversy in the Native American scholarly community about the validity of the Native American/First Peoples information and themes. Nevertheless, Cole's character is realistic and Mikaels More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 22, 2008

Jess rated it:

This is a phenomenal book. Through out the year almost all of my kids read it and usually in a day or two. The story tells of a boy, Cole, who has an extremely misguided life due to his family situation. After beating a kid close to death he is sent to live on an island by himself for a year trying to heal his anger. This was his only alternative to going to jail. The book is intense and a bit graphic in Chapter 8 when he encounters a spirit bear. The books sheds great light into the heali More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2009

Gerson rated it:

I love this book! Theres a lot you can learn from it. Although I admit theres a lot of wierd things in it. but it helped me realize it was important to control my temper. This is a book that people with anger problems should read.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 20, 2008

Marie rated it:

Touching Spirit Bear Review

Mikaelsen, B. (2001). Touching Spirit Bear. New York: Harper Trophy.

Why the book was chosen
I liked the title, Touching Spirit Bear; it got my attention. On the cover it states, "Can a
mythical bear help a boy beyond human reach?" I am interested in counseling as a profession;
the cover sounded like this session was going to be a challenge. I sure would like to know how a
"spirit bear" helped a boy with h More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 08, 2012

Sarah rated it:

This book was recommended to me by a great big guy with huge scars and tattoos, including those little tears that you do next to your eyes in prison. I read it and he's right, it is amazing, especially for delinquent guys who need to learn to manage their anger. And a lot of things in this book are real: Spirit Bears, and Alaska, and Circle Justice, and probation officers who totally go out on a limb for kids that for some reason they just can't stop believing in. But it really makes me wonder a More...

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Dec 17, 2011

Christina (Reading Thru The Night) rated it:

Summary

Fifteen year old Cole has been arrested and this time around his wealthy, drunk, and divorced parents cannot bail him out. In a rage-filled moment, Cole smashed peer Peter's head against the concrete sidewalk leaving him permanently physically damaged. The courts plan on trying him as an adult, and Cole's future appears to hold nothing less than a long jail sentence. Except Cole's probation officer, Garvey, sees something on himself in this destructive young boy and suggests the More...

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Dec 10, 2011

David rated it:

Touching Spirit Bear is one of the best books I have ever read. The story is about a troubled teen from Minneapolis named Cole. He commits a serious offense and is put into a program called circle justice. He is sent to an island through a Native American program for a year to come to peace with himself and his anger. However the book takes a sudden twist when Cole meets the Spirit Bear.
Cole Mathews is the main character in the story. He is a boy who has been abused by his dad and bee More...

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Nov 11, 2011

Andrew rated it:

Andrew Modugno Mr.Ambrose
11/9/11
Touching Spirit Bear
Cole has a choice, got to jail or be sentenced to a year alone on a remote island in Alaska after permanently damaging Peter Driscal’s brain after assaulting him. While he is on this island he learns a lot about himself and becomes a better person despite his troubles back home. It is a great story how Cole changes with the help of some people and nature, and the acceptance of More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 03, 2011

Colin. rated it:

Okay, this may be one of my all-time favourite books, so bear with me, please.
I have actually me Ben Mikaelsen himself, I have signed copies of several of his books (Stranded, Red Midnight, Countdown, Touching Spirit Bear, Etc.), and he is one of my favourite authors as well, so excuse me if I'm biased.

Anyways, the way I heard the story, (remember, I actually got invited to have dinner with the guy, my name got drawn in the hat, what can I say? I'm lucky.) Ben was actually kid More...

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Aug 16, 2011

Shayla rated it:

I typically don't like the wilderness/survival type of genre. I don't relate to it. I hate the outdoors. However, all the middle school kids were reading it and many recommended it. I'm really glad I got to read it. (Ok...listen to it on CD. I didn't even want to spend the energy reading it.)
Mikaelsen does a great job with Cole as the protagonist. At the beginning he is just a spoiled juvenile delinquent. However, as you get to learn more of his story you understand him more and I ended More...

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May 26, 2011

Angel rated it:

The book Touching Spirit Bear,by Ben Mikaelsen, is mainly about the struggle of a young teenager trying to survive and inevitably comes across spiritual reform at the same time. Cole Matthews, the main character of the story, grows up with the gruesome experience of having an abusive father with a mother too scared to do anything to help his son. This ultimately leads to Cole becoming a criminal. He soon gets himself into trouble for beating a guy named Peter, just for the fact that he saw him More...

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May 24, 2011

Deepak rated it:

Touching Spirit Bear, a book by Ben Mikaelsen, is a fiction book about survival. The main character, Cole Matthews, is a fifteen year-old juvenile delinquent. He has a troubled life where his father beats him and his home life leads to Cole doing bad things. Cole's actions finally catch up to him when he brutally beats a boy named Peter, who suffers greatly from the beating and becomes an important character later on in the novel. His parole officer, Garvy, tells him to go to Circle Justice so h More...

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Apr 25, 2011

Ben R. rated it:

Genre: Survival

When a troubled, aggresive teenager, Cole Matthews, is sentenced for jail, his parents decide not to bail him out like they usually do. In a vain effort to avoid the slammer, Cole applies for Circle Justice, an alternative Native American way of healing, not punishing. Cole is planning to escape easily, but his plans are soon thwarted. Alone on an island off the coast of Alaska, Cole learns his role in life and the importance of nature. He learns to let go of anger More...

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Mar 06, 2011

Lilly rated it:

I have to say, this book was okay. It was well written and everything but...I'm just not into these kind of stories. It just seemed too cheesy for me, and bad people going good and rebuilding their life and soul is just kinda boring - Not that that's a bad thing, of course, good for him! - but I just couldn't click with the character.

Have you ever been reading something and just kinda want your character to die? Because I was actually looking forward to Cole dying or commiting suicide More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 20, 2011

Iris rated it:

I was a little hesitant to read Touching Spirit Bear because from its summary on the back it did not seem like the kind of book I would like. It took me a long time to get through the book, although well written, it was not my favorite. I gave it three stars based on my personal enjoyment, however, I thought that the book had a good message for a young adult novel and would probably be very much enjoyed by middle schoolers. Cole is that angry, juvenile delinquent who can be found in a lot of dif More...

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Feb 14, 2011

Tina rated it:

Ben Mikaelson's Touching Spirit Bear is a coming-of-age story if there ever was one, which is probably why I liked it rather than loved it. However, I think this is a book that students, especially middle schoolers, would LOVE! Mikaelson has a gift in writing; the story flows so smoothly and is so accessible for readers of varying capabilities. Every reader will be able to build some kind of connection with Cole and will be encouraged and inspired by the drastic change he experiences throughout More...

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Feb 14, 2011

Erin rated it:

This novel follows the emotional, physical, and spiritual healing of Cole Matthews. Cole, an angry teen with abusive parents and a war raging within himself, is offered a chance to make up for his crimes to his community. He is placed on a remote island in Aslaska, where he will live on his own for a year. Thinking it an easy way to avoid jail, Cole arrives to the island but quickly (and foolishly) tries to escape. Finding that he is no match against nature, Cole becomes gravely injured, and i More...

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Feb 14, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

I was disappointed by Ben Mikaelson's Touching Spirit Bear. While I liked some features such as a male protagonist and the idea of healing rather than punishing, on the whole I was let down. 30 pages of Cole lying helpless in the Alaskan wilderness when he should have died from starvation (due to his broken body and lack of nourishment before hand,) hypothermia, or loss of blood made for a slow-moving, unrealistic plot. Also, some characters, such as Edwin and Garvey were not well developed. I o More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 13, 2011

Elisa rated it:

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. In the beginning of the book I thought that it was very cliche because we have this young troubled kid with lost hope beating up a “tattle tale” kid. These types of incidents are commonly seen in some school settings so much that phrases such as “snitches get stitches” have evolved. Furthermore, in the story Cole has to suffer gruesome pain, in my opinion. The suffering he went through after the mauling almost made me want to stop reading the book More...

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Feb 13, 2011

Gia rated it:

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Touching Spirit Bear and could definitely see myself teaching a book like this in a high school or upper level middle school classroom. When I was reading the descriptions about Cole I instantly thought of Tyler Blackburn, the bad boy of the new show Pretty Little Liars. His intelligence is almost to much for his own good. Being forced into a situation alone where there is no one to manipulate or blame is the best method for a character like this. I enjoyed the way M More...

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Feb 13, 2011

Olivia rated it:

In Ben Mikaelsen’s Touching Spirit Bear, the protagonist (Cole Matthews) struggles with anger management, and is living in a juvenile detention center for beating up a classmate within an inch of his life. Cole shows no remorse for this mistake, and blames others for his poor decisions. Cole has the opportunity for “circle justice,” or to be abandoned to a faraway island off the coast of Alaska for a year as an alternative to jail, and although he is not enthusiastic about this, he decides that More...

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Feb 13, 2011

Cameron rated it:

I very much enjoyed the cultural aspect o Touching Spirit Bear. It helped me to better understand the relationship that nature plays with the Tinglet Native Americans as well as the power of the circle. It is also nice to have a male protagonist for a YA novel. Where I would recommend this book to certain people I would only be inclined to teach this novel at the sixth grade level. I feel like it was more of a nice read than it was something a whole class can take in. I would be very inclined ho More...

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Feb 12, 2011

Charise rated it:

Touching Spirit Bear was one of the best novels I’ve read this semester. From the start, I was incredibly invested in the characters. I felt Cole’s anger and Peter’s pain, as well as Garvey and Edwin’s desperation to help Cole. Ben Mikaelsen began the story with raw emotion, allowing the story to go in any direction. What I absolutely love about this novel is how the story took full circle and ended up mirroring what Mikaelsen’s lesson was to begin with- all of life is part of the same circl More...

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Feb 12, 2011

Lenet rated it:

Cole Matthews is on a journey to self-discovery after nearly killing one of his classmates. He is a stubborn teen who refuses to listen to any one around him, including the law. When offered the option of banishment on an Alaskan island, Cole jumps at the opportunity- it beats being locked up in a jail cell for a year. On Cole's first trip to the island he refuses to give up his attitude and instead burns down the shelter and supplies that he needed for survival. His attempt at conquering a bear More...

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Feb 11, 2011

Nikki rated it:

For starters, this was a nice change of pace from the last novel that we read. With that being said, the novel "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen was a book that explored themes of family struggles, bullying, and coming of age through a struggling young teen named Cole Matthews. I felt as though Mikaelsen did a great job of creating a protagonist who we could "root for", if you will. One of the things that I enjoyed the most about this book was the fact that I felt this More...

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Jan 13, 2011

Miguel rated it:

I thought the book was pretty good at the start with a lot explanation of the book in the protagonist telling about his life and the parts of his life he did wrong the ending was pretty good but wished it was better.

Chapter 2 was about him going to the island where he had to stay for a year to make a better person of hi self, at the Alaskan island one of the parole officer trusted a native Indian gave him a blanket that use to be their chief blanket and trusted him with it s More...

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Dec 04, 2010

Randy rated it:

Cole Matthews beat PeterDriscal so bad he had loss of speech and motor skills. Go to jail or accept Native American Circle justice. Banishment to a remote island, full of anger Cole burns his cabin and supplies, and then attacks the great white spirit bear and is promptly mauled.Rescued and then allowed to return to the island, Cole begins to learn of himself and his inner workings.He has to learn to let go the anger and learn to forgive before he can be forgiven.He muat learn of his place in th More...

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Nov 24, 2010

Wmacdonald rated it:

This book was recommended to me by a teacher friend who thought it would be a good classroom novel for 5th grade students. I'm undecided on that. The book has some excellent themes including breaking cycles of family violence, forgiveness, healing (both physical and mental), and Native American belief systems which are appropriate for this age; however, the level of violence in the first half of the book might not be. The main character, Cole, is sent to exile on a island in SE Alaska (instea More...

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