Touching+Spirit+Bear

//Touching Spirit Bear//, Ben Mikaelsen, Harper Trophy, 2001, 240 pages. //Touching Spirit Bear// is the story of Cole Matthews, a very angry adolescent from Minnesota. As the book begins, Cole is on his way to an island in Alaska, his punishment for the violent attack on another student that placed the other boy in the hospital. He is going to Alaska as his punishment and not jail, as the result of Native American Circle Justice, an idea that the focus of punishment for wrongs should be a community attempt to allow the wrongdoer the opportunity for actual healing. Cole is sent to Alaska to live on a remote island by himself for one year, to come to terms with his anger and to realize the importance of living in a community. Cole, however, does not believe in this. He does not desire any change in his life; he only wishes to escape punishment. During his first stay on the island, Cole encounters a rare species of bear, the Spirit Bear. This bear is shrouded in mystery. Its natural habitat is hundreds of miles away from Cole’s island, and this particular bear has a mystic quality in his relationship to Cole. In all his anger, Cole only sees the bear as a defiant creature that does not respect his existence, and he attacks it, which results in a near death situation where he is rescued from the island. After healing, Cole is on the verge of going back into the justice system. Cole’s only advocates are Edwin, a Tlinglit elder who underwent a similar experience in Circle Justice, and Garvey, the parole officer on Cole’s case. After much deliberation with Cole’s lawyers and the rest of the members of the Circle, Cole is given the opportunity to go back to the island. On this return, Cole is confronted with the scariest thing he has even had to deal with: himself. We learn that Cole’s anger is itself part of a circle that did not begin with him, and that do come to terms with it he will have to push himself farther than he has ever been pushed before, and before he can be healed, he has to help the boy whose life he nearly took. This deals with issues that may be tough for young adult readers to handle. Cole comes from a family of neglect and abuse. He does not think about the consequences of his actions, nor does he care about them. Many young adults are dealing with complex issues of their own and may have, like Cole, felt the desire to lash out in many ways, including violence. This book gives the message that we choose our actions, that we can take control of our emotions and decide what kind of day, what kind of life, we will have. Consequently, I think this book is great commentary for young adults on the importance of knowing one’s self, and the personal choice involved in shaping how factors that are beyond our control will determine the course of our lives. I was glad the focus of this book was not on a “wilderness adventure,” and because of that the book does not only appeal to boys, although those type of details in it certainly make it more appealing to them. The internal focus, on what is actually going through rather than what he does on the island makes it applicable to more than just those who have the fancy to chop firewood and go fishing on an isolated Alaskan island. In //Touching Spirit Bear//, Ben Mikaelson portrays adolescents as the potential source of significant strength. Although there are many factors that can have extreme negative influences on a child’s life (in this case abuse), through reflection and significant trial they can find the strength to create themselves, to choose their own life. Instead of locking away juvenile delinquents in situations where little is done to initiate healing in the individual, they should be given the opportunity to heal themselves, to heal their crime, and to heal the wound that he or she has inflicted upon the community. Instead of writing off a kid as a bad apple, the factors that led to certain behaviors or emotions should be addressed, and there should be the chance to overcome those inherited obstacles. I would recommend this novel for students between 7th and 10th grades. The story is well told, offering a present narrative as well as a past reflection on Cole’s life. The themes in this book may be too much for some younger readers to handle. The pace is the book is not action centered, and finds a balance between personal commentary and engrossing events. The best part of this book is that it takes a look inward, and any reader can find themselves considering events in their own life while reading.
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