In his Nautilus Award-winning classicTouching Spirit Bear, author Ben Mikaelson delivers a powerful coming-of-age story of a boy who must overcome the effects that violence has had on his life.After severely injuring Peter Driscal in an empty parking lot, mischief-maker Cole Matthews is in major trouble. But instead of jail time, Cole is given another option: attend Circle Justice, an alternative program that sends juvenile offenders to a remote Alaskan Island to focus on changing their ways. Desperate to avoid prison, Cole fakes humility and agrees to go.While there, Cole is mauled by a mysterious white bear and left for dead. Thoughts of his abusive parents, helpless Peter, and his own anger cause him to examine his actions and seek redemptionfrom the spirit bear that attacked him, from his victims, and, most importantly,from himself.Ben Mikaelsen paints a vivid picture of a juvenile offender, examining the roots of his anger without absolving him of responsibility for his actions, and questioning a society in which angry people make victims of their peers and communities.Touching Spirit Bearis a poignant testimonial to the power of a pain that can destroy, or lead to healing.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book features in the following series: Spirit Bear, Spritit Bear .

This book is aimed at children at US 3rd grade-7th grade.

This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.

There are 256 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2016 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc .

Ben Mikaelsen is the award-winning author of many books for children, including Petey, Countdown, Rescue Josh McGuire, Stranded, and Sparrow Hawk Red. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.