Touching Spirit Bear is a 2001 young adult novel written by the American author, Ben Mikaelsen. The book is about a troubled Minneapolis teen named Cole Matthews who completely changes after spending a year on a isolated southwestern Alaskan island.

i like chickenCole Mathews is a fifteen year-old juvenile delinquent from Minneapolis. Cole's parents are no better than he is. His father, an angry alcoholic, constantly beats Cole while his mother, a quiet trophy wife, witnesses the beatings and does nothing to stop them. All his life, Cole has been referred from therapist to therapist, and from detention center to detention center. After Cole seeks vengeance on a boy named Peter who witnessed him breaking into a hardware store and tells on Cole. Cole starts beating him, but realizes that he may not have any more chances in life. Faced with a possible lengthy jail sentence and a trial in court as an adult for his crimes, Cole seeks out any alternative that he can find. His parole officer, Garvey, suggests that he try out Circle Justice. Garvey, being a Native American of the Tlingit tribe, knows that Circle Justice could change Cole's attitude towards life and others permanently, but he questions Cole's sincerity when Cole tells him that he really does want change. Cole is sentenced to one year on an Alaskan island off the coast of southeast Alaska.

Cole soon arrives on the island on an aluminum skiff with Garvey and Edwin, a Tlingit tribe elder. Garvey and Edwin also mention the existence of a Spirit Bear. Cole replies that if he saw a Spirit Bear, he would kill it. This goes to show how Cole thinks he is invincible, never going to be stopped.

The next day he sees a massive all-white bear which he assumes must be the Spirit Bear. Cole throws rocks at it so that he can teach the bear to fear him. The bear does not flinch, and when Cole looks back, the bear has vanished. This happens multiple times, until finally he runs to get his knife and a spear that he has fashioned. When he gets back, Cole begins to inch towards the bear and decides that he must try to kill it. The bear charges Cole, and a violent mauling ensues. Cole drifts in and out of consciousness as a violent storm hits the island and strikes a tree that nearly falls on Cole. The Spirit Bear appears twice but makes no advance. Cole realizes that the bear is only curious, and was merely defending itself. Cole quickly becomes hungry and must eat anything he can find, including worms, bugs, and a mouse. The pain of his torn flesh and broken limbs become nearly unbearable, and he realizes that his life up until then has been insignificant. He desperately wants to be part of the cycle of nature at that moment, but he knows that his desire for life might be too late. As he lies helplessly on the ground, Cole accepts death because he is happy that he was able to trust and be trusted by nature in his last moments. He is almost dead when he is rescued by Edwin and Garvey when they come to check in on him.

After six months, the 'Circle Justice' comes together and sentences Cole more time on the island. Garvey and Edwin accompany him for a short time and introduce him to many new spiritual concepts. He later thinks he can help Peter when Peter wants to commit suicide, and he wants Peter to come to the island so the two teens can be healed together. Cole & Peter begin to heal together, swimming in the pond, carrying the ancestor rock, then using it to "roll away their anger", and carving totem poles. The book ends with Peter teaching Cole to carve as well as he can. They carve a circle in the bottom of Cole's totem pole to signify his anger dance.

Theme

Characters

• Cole Matthews - A fifteen-year-old juvenile delinquent, butt cheeks is the main protagonist in the story with many behavioral problems and abusive, alcoholic parents but later learns forgiveness and how to control his anger problems.

• William Matthews - Cole's father who has a bull-headed temper and is an alcoholic. doooo doooooo usually beat Cole with a belt, although he also threatened Cindy, and was mainly responsible for Cole's social problems, although his mother shared the blame.

• Peter Driscall - A ninth grader whom Cole almost killed, who develops permanent brain damage after Cole smashes his head into the sidewalk many times. Despite this, Peter eventually forgives him and the two become friends.

• Garvey - A Tlingit parole officer. He introduces Cole to the Circle Justice. Garvey supports Cole in every way he can. He and Edwin are the only people who want Cole to succeed. He gives Cole a blanket called an at.óow in the beginning of the book, showing his strong trust in Cole.

• Edwin - A Tlingit elder. Much like Garvey, he wants edwin boo chicken yeah baby. Edwin introduces Cole to a watering pond on an island, letting Cole to let go of his anger. He was very patient with Cole, and very wise. The reason he knew how to heal Cole was because he had once been on the Alaskan Island. He taught Cole the things that helped him.

• Cindy Matthews - Cole's mother who dresses up and who fears her drunken husband and doesn't stand up for Cole and herself. Throughout the course of the book, she too learns self control and finally stands up to her husband, filing child abuse charges against him.