Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen; Reviewed by Claire

Cole Matthews, age fifteen, is what you might call evil. He believes that in order to have power over someone, they must be scared of you. He follows this rule quite well, too. Cole is a bully. Any of the people at his school might tell you to stay out of his way, and he is proud of that. All of the bad things he does are because he thinks he can get away with them. Everything is a big game to him. Every time the judge says,” This is your last chance,” he knows there will be another one. But, he goes too far when he almost kills Peter Driscal, a frail ninth grader. This time, Cole’s punishment is a choice - either jail, or Native American Circle Justice.


Cole chooses Circle Justice, just as a way to get out of going to jail. But, it turns out that jail would have been a better choice. Cole’s sentence is to spend one year in isolation on an Alaskan island. During that time, the spirit bear, a mysterious white bear, helps Cole learn the value of life. After terribly mauling him, the spirit bear leaves a ripped-up Cole on the ground to die. This experience teaches Cole that being mean does not prove anything, it just leaves scars and holes in the other person’s heart.


I liked this book because it made you think about what was really going on, so you understood it more. Like Hatchet, this book mostly takes place in the wilderness, but at times is a little more civil than Hatchet. You might like this book if you liked Hatchet, but if not, stay away! There is a lot more gore in this book. But, don’t let a little blood stop you from reading a great book! Touching Spirit Bear has a lot of meaning and is quite exciting. Read the book to find out if Cole survives!