Touching Spirit Bear Monthly Review

The teen novel Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen is about a teenage juvenile delinquent named Cole. The story starts when Cole robs a hardware store and a 9th grade boy named peter tells the police what he did. Cole is just and angry and confused teenager who has been spending his life stealing and fighting for years. one day after school Cole confronts peter and fights him. By fighting Peter, Cole caused him mental and physical damage. Cole bashed Peters head on the side walk and now not only will he be charged for robbery but now he will also be charged for assault. For this Cole is offered two options, he can either go to jail or he must join the Circle justice. The Circle of Justice is an group which hopes to heal everyone involved, whether it be the offender, the victim, and or the community. Circle Justice's tells Cole that he has to go to a remote island in Alaska for a year to look upon what he has done and to get his mind and thoughts cleared. Going to the island would not eliminate his jail time but there was a pretty good chance of shortening it. Cole goes through so much that now he understands a little bit of how peter feels. He was almost mangled to death by a bear and being so hungry that he eats his puke. Also, he sees a live rat on his arm, and eats that too, along with worms. He starts to wish he was in jail and says

If it weren't for his parents, Peter, and the stupid Healing Circle, he wouldn't even be here.(45).

When he finds himself being heavily beaten almost to death by a mysterious white bear he wishes he was in jail. When he is laying there in the rain with his mouth filled with blood and his shirt ripped up and his chest cut up and his arm broken and not being able to move or breathe he wishes he was someplace else, someplace warm. Being banished to a remote Alaskan island can doesn't sound fun but i guess it gives him more time to think being by himself.

As i Read an article about Ben Mikaelsen on Wikipedia it turns out that his life really influenced or inspired his book Touching spirit Bear. One of the ways his life is similar is that he has a pet bear that the takes care of and saved it from being killed and i think thats where he got the idea for the Spirit Bear. The bear is apparently friendly after he had his claws taken form him and Ben on a personal level doesn't think it was right that they took him out of his natural habitat. Another thing that i think inspired him to write this book was that as a boy growing up in Bolivia he was bullied....he didn't start school until 4th grade and then moved to the U.S. From how i see it i think Ben is in a way trying to tell the audience how he felt when he was bullied and uses Peter and a character to portray him. Cole bullied Peter and almost killed him. Maybe Ben got to the point when all the bullying that had happened to him he felt that he wanted to die. Or maybe he associated the pain of his bullying to getting your head smashed against the sidewalk. When Peter comes to the island with his parents and Garvey he is really scared of Cole and tries to avoid him as much as possible. Ben probably never wanted to confront his offenders but what i think Ben is trying to show is that no matter what someone did, or how bad it was, one should always find someway to try and forgive one another. Before reading about Ben's life i never would have guessed that he had a pet Bear or that he was bullied i just thought he had an overactive imagination and an imagination with great detail. If you are also interested about learning more about Ben Mikaelsen's like their is another website i found on Scholastic.com.

Cole is a really confused and hard to get through to. He could be doing so many things with his life than going in the streets and robbing stores. i can't imagine all the things that were going through his mind when he smashed Peter's head into the sidewalk. When he gets to the island he wants to have power and control over it and when he meets the spirit bear he wants to demonstrate how powerful he really is. But the spirit bear did him a favor when he almost killed him. Maybe not at first but cole did end up realizing that he can't blame his problem on other people he only has himself to blame.

What did you learn. Asked Edwin. "To forgive," Cole said "Being angry is giving someone else control of my feelings so they own me. Forgiving gives me control again.

Although he hasn't carved anything about forgiveness in his totem. So far he has been doing good. He still soaks in the pond and pushes the rock and he knows he has changed . WHen he dances he carves it out in his totembut things start to turn when Edwin shows up for a surprise visit and tells him that Peter tried to commit suicide twice. Cole really wants to help.

i can help him!

i know he's afraid of me and what i did, he thinks im a monster that's coming back to get hi. Maybe if he meets me face to face he'll see i've changed and maybe he'll see that he can heal to.

Peter tries to get back at Cole, he throws rocks at him and he destroys Cole's Spirit Bear carving on the totem. After all that Cole takes Peter to go and soak alone, without Garvey. When they reach the pond, Peter starts fighting Cole but he refuses to fight back because of the past and how he has changed. Cole can only try to defend himself by blocking the hits. However, after a while, Peter stops beating Cole and starts crying. Cole hugs and comforts him. Deep down i really do think Cole feels sorry and regrets ever laying a hand on Peter but without all that had happened maybe he would've never waken up and found out who he really is. Life goes on as natural without disturbance allowing the one invisible to see everything that really happens in nature. in nature all you see is the truth.

Overall Touching Spirit Bear was a good book. I have to admit it was a little too detailed in some aspects in my opinion. So if you don't like reading a book about people getting teared to shreds then maybe this book isn't for you. Before i this book i hadn't read any other books by Ben Mikaelsen and my brother was the one who recommended this book to me because he read it in his class. Im looking forward to reading other books by Ben Mikaelsen.

Touching Spirit Bear letter # 3

This is the last lit.circle letter for my book and Cole has come a long way. He has realized that he has changed.

What did you learn. Asked Edwin. "To forgive," Cole said. Being angry is giving someone else control of my feelings so they own me. Forgiving gives me control again.

Although he hasn't carved anything about forgiveness in his totem. So far he has been doing good. He still soaks in the pond and pushes the rock and he knows he has changed . WHen he dances he carves it out in his totembut things start to turn when Edwin shows up for a surprise visit and tells him that Peter tried to commit suicide twice.

He really wants to help peter because he thinks its the right thing to do.

I can help him! I know he's afaid of me and what i did, he thinks im a monster that's coming back to get hi. Maybe if he meets me face to face he'll see i've changed and maybe he'll see that he can heal to.

He has a crazy idea to bring peter to the island. Peter's parents don't know what to do. They have run out of options and decide to bring Peter to the island, this was not an easy desicion. Peters parents would never let him go alone so they will accompany him until they feel that he really is safe and Garvey will also be there, just in case. After a few days, Peter tries to get back at Cole, he throws rocks at him and he destroys Cole's Spirit Bear carving on the totem. After all that Cole takes Peter to go and soak alone, without Garvey. When they reach the pond, Peter starts fighting Cole but he refuses to fight back because of the past and how he has changed. Cole can only try to defend himself by blocking the hits. However, after a while, Peter stops beating Cole and starts crying. Cole hugs and comforts him. At this point they both look up and see the spirit bear. This occurred because both Peter and Cole have become "invisible", or accepting of life's circle. While invisible, nature will see you as who you truly are. Life goes on as natural without disturbance allowing the one invisible to see everything that really happens in nature. in nature all you see is the truth. In the end Peter helps Cole carve a circle as the last piece of the totem pole. Garvey walks in and sees that Cole has carved a perfect circle and asks why. The boys don't answer and Garvey says

Could it be because every part of a circle is both a beginning and an end?" " and everything is one? Peter disagrees. He claims it's the only thing he could teach Cole to carve. Cloe nodded and said Im a slow learner but im working on it.

New Songs!!

This is the last blog post due for my english class. I thought i would end it with more songs that i wrote but they still need some work. I will try and keep blogging although it probably won't be every week. Here is the first song. I incorporated some of the words from one of my older songs to make this one sound better, so you could say this is the new and improved version.

Thunder Storm

When you told me it was over

that out time had run its course

just had to turn around

and leave with no remorse

When you told me i was the only one

you could ever love

well that appeared to be a lie

and now im wondering how i will survive

it all feels like a thumder storm

like a dream that i can't wake up from

hearing the roaring thunder

i think i want to run for cover

not knowing when or where to stop

im not saying its your fault

we both just need to think

just need to breathe and take it all in

before the storm hits

Your the one i go to when im feeling lonley

your the one i go to when life's moving slowly

i know theres a reason why i keep coming back

but everytime i do we fall right off track

im not sure what im going to do

without you-u ohh without you-u

memories,fantasies, dreams that we shared

seems to me you really just don't care

it all feels like a thumder storm

like a dream that i can't wake up from

hearing the roaring thunder

i think i want to run for cover

not knowing when or where to stop

im not saying its your fault

we both just need to think

just need to breathe and take it all in

before the storm hits

it all feels like a thumder storm

like a dream that i can't wake up from

hearing the roaring thunder

i think i want to run for cover

not knowing when or where to stop

im not saying its your fault

we both just need to think

just need to breathe and take it all in

before the storm hits.

For this next song i haven't really figured out a name so ill take suggestions. Its kind of short but like i said im still working on them.

Sitting in class thinking about you

as the time passes by

wondering when ill finally come up to you

and say hi

don't know what im feeling but i know somethings

in my heart that need you now

and now im waiting for you to come around

It starts with a hey

that leads to a hug

that leads to a kiss

then leads to in love

were meant for each other

one for another

can't you see

that we are meant to be

see you in the halls

i can't help but smile

wanting you to stay for a while

see you in my dreams right next to me

and thinking about where were gonna be

It starts with a hey

that leads to a hug

that leads to a kiss

then leads to in love

were meant for each other

one for another

can't you see

that we are meant to be

Rules of Love.....

Rules of love.... in our society, there are so many rules about love and dating and who to date. In the short movie we watched, the parents of the girls didn't seem too intrested in the guy she was going out with as far as his personality. Now in days your parents want to know everything....who is he, where did you meet him,is he nice, who his parents are and were are you guys going to be. her parents didn't ask her anything about him. I think these "rules" that we all make are influenced by society, our parents,and religion. I thinlk these rules are set up by us so that we have someting to follow like guildelines. Honestly, how can you explain it. Is it the way that you care about someone so much that you dedicate so much of your time to them? or is it that you dont want anything to happen that person and so you have that feeling of protecting them? Or is it the constant need for their attention that drives you toward them? It takes time, from past experience, it feels great, to love someone, care about them unconditionally, be able to say “i love you”. But in the long run, if you truely love someone, it means, you are always going to be there for the person, and never leave. You wont ever feel this way unless you “jump” into love and that means opening up completely and trusting that person with your heart and setting off. if you get hurt, you cant say it was a bad experience, cause from every relationship you learn something new. and if you think it is good, well good. not much more to say on that.Love is a strange emotion that gets us at one point or another. You always hear that "nice girls" don't have sex until they get married and they won't sneak out and will always tell the truth. Sometimes in some cultures you are expected to marry with the same race as you or the same religion it all depends on what your customs are. I think it might be easier to marry within the same race/ culture because lets say that you don't and you speak another language and you want to teach your kids but your husband/wife doesn't want to because they don't know the language.it just depends when you are going to open up to someone to feel it.

Touching Spirit Bear letter # 2

This is a really gross part in this book. It’s when Cole gets hurt, and he can’t move. His body is torn up. He's starved and throws up. He’s so hungry that he eats his puke and it makes me want to throw up too. Also, he sees a live rat on his arm, and eats that too, along with worms.

" He found two seagulls near his head, peaking fish chunks from the vomit he had trouwn up in the grass. My puke,Cole thought. They're eating my puke. In that moment, Sloe realiized how badly he wanted to live. The food he had thrown up was still food. Those fish bits sill contained energy, and energy was life, No thieving seagull was going to steal life from him. He jerked his arm at the gulls."Mine", he grunted."THat's mine". Squaking, the gulls hopped his reach. Cloe stretched his arm out, picked a small chunk of fish from the grass, and brought it to his mouth. After swallowing he reached foe more. Bit by bit until the few remaining pieces were too small to pinch between his fingers. Finally he relaxed. Eating had taken his last ounce of energy."(89)

Cole is starting to realize alot of things now that any type of food means energy and the author describes that with what and how Cole eats.This part is one of my favorites so far because he realized that he needed other people to survive. He also learned that he cannot always blame other people when the fault is only his own. I think Cole started to open his eyes about everything when he began to wade in the icy, cold water and when he throws his ancestor rock down the big, dense hill.

" Wolves often hunted in a pack. Together, they accomplished more than they could alone."(161)

"What did you learn?" Garvey asked.

"that you need the help of others" Cloe said.(162)

When he threw the rock that was the symbol of his ancestors he was letting go of all his anger and as it "tumbled faster and faster, Cloe felt his body grow lighter, and when the rock smashed to a stop at the bottom, he felt as if he could fly.

the hidden temple ch.6

Today Jim woke the family really early because today was the day he would take them to the waterfall. Few families are fortunate enough to go since there is only 2 or 3 guides that knows where it is and how to get there. The trip is long and hard. but since they really wanted to go they couldn't complain. When they finally got to the waterfall they all wanted to get in the water but since they were at the top of the water fall and they had to get down to it to swim the only possible way was too jump. Cheryl really didn't want to jump and she didn't want riley and Jonah to jump either so she asked...

'is there any othere way to get down?"

looking down with a sigh jim said

"yes, just down that path along those trees.....but it won't be as much fun....ill come back up here to get you and our equipment.'

Riley and Jonah had been looking forward to jump off and weren't going to sacrifice that tingly feeling you get when you jump just because their mom was scared...so they were going to jump. Jim suggested that they all go down together and put their things down and then he will come back up with whoever wants to jump off the waterfall. They all agreed and had gone down but the trail was slippery because of the mist from the water and everyone occasionally took a small slip. When they finally got down and set everything up they all went back up jim told them how they should hit the water so they wouldn't hurt themselves. After they jumped off a couple times they had lunch and after that Jim decided it was time to get on their way. Jonah really didn't want to go and had a fit but lost and very soon again they were on their way. Along the way Jim pointed out to them more wildlife and they all seemed very interested. They had made it to a vast open site where you could see the ocean and everything looked so small in the distance. Jim said to the kids as he was pointing to an open field of tall grass.

" when you guys are playing around be careful....sometimes animals are found there and we don't know if they will attack humans....also some of the ground over there is known to be unstable so watch were you step."

Jonah was totally ignoring him although he would occasionally nod. But Riley hadn't had her bad dream again until that night. She saw herself being swallowed up from the earth and not knowing whether she would ever see her parents again. The next morning when she woke up she told herself that for nothing in the world would she go play in the tall grass. She thought that they we going to leave that same day back to the hotel but when Jim told them the weather looked to be good and they would stay there for a couple more days Riley was frightened.

What a long day...

This is a poem that one of my friends wrote for me. She is like my twin...we always wear the same jacket that we have on the same day and we don't even plan it. Its on a different day each week. It was a pretty long day and kind of weird and we were both pretty bored. Just goes to show that poetry is an art that has no boundaries.

Nellie

Where art thou Nellie my golden gummy?

You are like a cherish-able cherry

oh so great to go into my tummy

A young pretty thing you are. A berry!

I love how sweet berries are, just like you.

Oh so! For it can never be guile.

Do you know what else is sweet? Mountain Dew!

but nothing can beat your joyful smile.

You are so great at whatever you try

Just like swimming, polo, and work of all kinds

I can bet if you try you can even fly

And for every boy who passes, you must blind

Altogether i must say you're and 'A'

As i watch you lay, not in a creepy way.

She wrote this for me while we were doing English homework and tanning our ugly bad tan lines from swimming everyday. Like i told you its kind of weird. But thats why she one of my good friends. My day was really weird. It all started in P.E., there are these girls that are always mugging me and when i was going to ask them what there problem was one of the freshman came up to me and asked me something about this one guy that i don't even know. I set her straight and told her i didn't want drama but her and her friends are always staring at me as if i can't see them. I don't even know those girls and they talked to me as if they already knew me. Then it was lunch time...what was i going to have for lunch, well lets see.... League was only a couple days away and our coaches told us to stay away form junk food and to not stuff our faces and that meant no soda, sugar, or anything fired. I felt like i could die!! I ended up eating sushi which seemed to be somewhat healthy...nothing was fried...i think. Then came History and to my surprise we had a test on the Russian Revolution which i only knew so much about. Everyone basically cheated on the test besides the fact that we all got one page of notes everyone was whispering the answers across the room and our teacher didn't notice and he was sitting in the middle of the room. Almost to the end of my day there was Spanish. We watched a really creepy movie about a two sided mirror in which the ending made no sense. Then almost finally there was swim practice and besides the poem which was nice...practice was really easy :). Around the time for dinner i didn't know what to eat so i had a salad. A salad for dinner. So this was my long, weird and epic day.

Touching Spirit Bear letter # 1

Cole Matthews is an angry teenager who has been spending his life stealing and fighting for years. One day Cole bumps into his old classmate Peter Driscal, and fights him. In the fight Cole losses complete control and smashes Peter's head into the sidewalk and causes him permanent brain damage. He was very luck not to die. Cole is being offered a escape from being sent to jail or a special home, he is offered Circle Justice. Which is a system thats similar to Native American traditions to try and help the criminal offender. At first Cole thinks it is way better than to be in jail. He makes fun of the Circle of justice and ignores the opportunities that he was given. In his heart Cole blames his alcoholic mom, his abusive dad, wimpy Peter, everyone but himself for his situation.

If it weren't for his parents, Peter, and the stupid Healing Circle, he wouldn't even be here.

When he finds himself being heavily beaten almost to death by a mysterious white bear he wishes he was in jail. When he is laying there in the rain with his mouth filled with blood and his shirt riped up and his chest cut up and his arm broken and not being able to move or breathe he wishes he was someplace else, someplace warm. Being banished to a remote Alaskan island can doesn't sound fun but i guess it gives him more time to think being by himself.

Whatever you do to animals, you do to yourself. Remember that.

This quotes is totally true from what i have read. Cole tried to kill the bear with a spear that he made and failed and the bear wasn't going to let him get away with it. So far i think this book is interesting. It is certainty action packed but i feel it is too unrealistic for teens now in days.