 
|
|
Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN13: 9780060734008
Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
Notes:
Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
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.
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
| Customer Reviews: |
|
| |
| My 11 year old said, "It changed my life" |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
 |
|
I am a parent of an 11 year old who read this for her 6th grade book report. As she was reading she was excited about it and read some of it to me in small pieces. I told her a few times it sounded like something that shouldn't be in the school library. She insisted it was good. She finished the book last night and told me, "It changed my life". How many 11 year olds tell you that? I was amazed. She said it touched her and made her want to be a better person. That is how I came here to Amazon. Any book that has that kind of affect I want to research and get a copy of so I can read it. I want to know what changed my daughters outlook. She said this book replaced 'Where the Red Fern Grows' as her favorite. That is big!
|
| new customer |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
|
|
the book I purchased was brand new, no pages missing,torn, or written in. It was as if I purchased from a book store but about $15.00 less. I will use Amazon to buy again.
|
| What a great book! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
|
|
I know this book is for middle grades, but I couldn't put it down! (I'm 43) I bought it for a graduate course to study children's literature. This is a must read for anyone! I've already convinced my 8th grade son to read it for his next book for school. This one will touch your heart.
|
| Cole might get better, but the author never does |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
 |
|
Cole starts out as a violent and angry bully, but, over the course of the book, he starts to grow spiritually. However, this book is not appropriate for middle schoolers or younger children. My child was disturbed by the death of the baby sparrows in the book, and by the main character's frequent stripping off his clothes. Only a disturbed person would do this. That is the reason why I rated this story so low. Especially disturbing were the scenes in which Cole beat up one of the other characters. I would not recommend it.
|
| Touching Spirit Bear |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
 |
|
From an Elementary Student in my class:
This book is about a kid named Cole. He was a very mean person who got in trouble for beating a kid up. Coles' parents were very mean and were drunks. So he found Circle Justice. He went to an island where he was mauled by a Spirit Bear. I recommend this book because it has a little gore and tells about a troubled kid's life.
|
|
