― Ben Mikaelsen, Touching Spirit Bear
Touching Spirit Bear focuses on the life of troubled young Cole Matthews. The book could be considered realistic fiction. At the beginning of the book Cole beats up a kid named Peteris is severely injured. Peter faces permanent effects from the attack while Cole is sent to a juvenile detention center. To avoid jail he agrees to spend a year on an island in complete isolation. While Cole is the main character there are multiple other characters in the book who play vital roles in the story. Cole’s father, mother, Peter, Garvey, and Edwin are all key characters in Cole’s development as a character.
I think that it’s a good book that discusses lots of tough topics in a way that’s easy to understand and comprehend. Some of the things the book discusses are also important topics that are very well explained. I liked the way the book was set up. The author starts in the actual time and has flashback-like moments all throughout the book. That’s how the reader learns about Cole’s past. The book can be a bit confusing in the beginning before you know the backstory of what’s happening. As the story progresses the author asks questions that’ll make you think.
I didn’t like the setup of the book. The timeline would jump back and forth between the past and the present. It took a while for me to understand what was happening and to understand the full story of what was happening. I also feel the end of the book was easy to predict. It was a classic character shift, and while it is a good book it was stereotypical. I liked the amount of detail the author put into the book and how real some parts of it were. The author also made Cole a relatable character in a way. He’s a teenager going through things that not everyone goes through but some of his emotions are something that most readers can understand.
I think this book would be enjoyable to people who are into nature. People who like realistic books that talk about difficult topics in a sensible way. Cole goes through a lot in the book and he becomes a different person. He started out as a person who was angry at the world and in the end, he was a calm person who was more at peace with himself. People who like reading books with drastic character changes and maturing characters would enjoy this or find it a compelling story.