Product Description

Alone in the wilderness, Cole found peace.

But he's not alone anymore.

Cole Matthews used to be a violent kid, but a year in exile on a remote Alaskan island has a way of changing your perspective. After being mauled by a Spirit Bear, Cole started to heal. He even invited his victim, Peter Driscal, to join him on the island and they became friends.

But now their time in exile is over, and Cole and Peter are heading back to the one place they're not sure they can handle: high school. Gangs and violence haunt the hallways, and Peter's limp and speech impediment make him a natural target. In a school where hate and tension are getting close to the boiling point, the monster of rage hibernating inside Cole begins to stir.

Ben Mikaelsen's riveting saga of survival and self-awareness continues in the sequel to his gripping Touching Spirit Bear. This time, he weaves a tale of urban survival where every day is a struggle to stay sane. As the problems in his school grow worse, Cole realizes that it's not enough just to change himself. He has to change his world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36770 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-01
• Released on: 2008-06-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060090074
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 6–10—Mikaelsen's sequel to Touching Spirit Bear (HarperCollins, 2001), the much-lauded novel exploring the psychology and community dynamics of bullying, is likely to draw a split decision among potential audiences. While teachers and counselors may find it to be an inspiring, timely, and instructive piece of bibliotherapy, street-smart students might find it improbable, pat, and didactic. The story picks up with newly reformed bully Cole Matthews and the boy he once beat mercilessly, Peter Driscal, returning to the demoralizing realities of their beleaguered urban high school after having spent extended therapeutic time exploring their inner lives on a remote Alaskan Island. While Cole had realized genuine peace and personal insight in exile, he can sense his old rage beginning to resurface when Peter, whom he now considers his best friend, becomes the target of gang attacks. Ultimately, in the wake of the suicide of a bullied classmate, Cole decides that the only real hope for changing the self-destructive attitudes and behaviors in his high school is to appeal to his principal to let him lead an attempt to heal its overall spirit using some of the same techniques his Tlingit mentor, Garvey, had employed with him. She does agree, of course, as obstacles tend to topple just a bit too easily in this overly whitewashed sequel.—Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Readers who clamored for a sequel to Touching Spirit Bear (2001), which left them wondering what would happen when Cole and Peter left Alaska, can finally breathe a sigh of relief—sort of. Cole’s father will have nothing to do with him, and Peter’s father, always critical, now considers his son damaged goods. School is a nightmare. Cole and Peter are prime targets for campus bullies, and if Cole violates parole by fighting back, he’ll go to jail. Both boys are frustrated and long for the serenity they left behind, but their efforts to recapture their experiences are laughably inadequate. It takes two tragic events to force the boys to face their demons and effect real change at home and at school. Mikaelsen provides a seamless transition between the two stories, as well as a highly satisfying resolution, and readers will quickly realize that, despite the new setting, this novel is just as much a survival story as its predecessor. The boys’ urban experiences are as gritty, dangerous, and physically and emotionally daunting as their adventures in the wild. Grades 6-9. --Chris Sherman

Review
"Gripping and fast moving." -- KLIATT

Customer Reviews

Ghost of Spirit Bear
This wasn't as good as Touching Spirit Bear, so I was a little disappointed. I am an 8th grade teacher & I read Touching Spirit Bear to my classes every year & every year they are on the edge of their seats. They love the gore & the message about healing & trying to break a cycle (of abuse). I am afraid they won't find this one as appealing or riveting.

A short but well written sequel to a Wonderful Book
I am a teacher in 7th grade and have been teaching Touching Spirit Bear for several years to my classes. It is a story that they all have come to love and enjoy. The lessons and inspiration it provides is eye opening. I was excited to read the sequel since the 1st book doesn't reveal what happens to the two boys once they leave the island.

I felt this story was a fitting sequel. Both boys have grown a great deal and you can see that in the sequel. The messages once again are a good one and deal with the difficulties a child faces in school. I especially felt the message to the administrators and staff of any school in this book is a powerful one. Too often teachers and administrators forget that students will embrace education only if they feel that the school they attend is a place of their own. This book really shows how students can make the school a part of their own. Students too often have no say in what happens in their education or their school. This story shows how students can be involved and it can have a positive impact. The only down side of this story is I felt it was mostly about the main character Cole. I would like to see another book that perhaps told things from Peter's perspective. The reason is we don't see that he has healed as much as the author wants you to believe.

This a a good book and a sequel that any Touching Spirit Bear lover should read.

A SCHOOL BULLY GETS BULLIED

Touching Spirit Bear is about how a violent kid, and how he really changed and helped others to change too. Cole is banished to an Alaskan Island by himself for a whole year is an awe inspiring story. He had to build his own little house and survive on his own. He was checked on regularly by his case worker. He went from out of control delinquent to getting a handle on himself. Cole now tackles real life, being back in high school, dealing with large quantities of people again.

It is a story about a high school gone wild. Bullying, suicide, vandalism and lack of respect, rather than getting an education are the themes at the high school.

He realises bullying at schools has to stop. Cole starts to take steps to make a huge difference.

If anyone has a child who is bullied or who is a bully this story is essential listening.

Very inspirational and a great read for young adults.