Ghost of Spirit Bear

August 1, 2008
Gr 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 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2008
Readers who clamored for a sequel to Touching Spirit Bear (2001), which left them wondering what would happenwhen Cole and Peterleft Alaska, can finally breathe a sigh of relief--sort of. Coles father will have nothing to do with him, andPeters father, always critical, now considershis sondamaged goods. School is a nightmare. Cole and Peter are prime targets for campus bullies, and if Cole violates parole by fighting back, hell go to jail. Both boys are frustrated and long for the serenity they left behind, but theirefforts to recapture their experiences are laughably inadequate. It takes two tragic events to force the boys toface 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 readerswill 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2008
Cole (Touching Spirit Bear), who learned to control his anger while exiled in Alaska, must now survive his Minneapolis high school. Mikaelsen's skill in writing about the wilderness doesn't extend to creating a convincing urban environment. His recap of the first book is clumsy, and the bullies (who, unconvincingly, use words like squeal and weenie) are two-dimensional.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)