Ghost of Spirit Bear [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Ben Mikaelsen (Author), Jason Harris (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 2008

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 exil 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.

Editorial Reviews

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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Audio CD
• Publisher: Listening Library (Audio); Unabridged edition (December 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739372602
• ISBN-13: 978-0739372609
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 5.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,261,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ben Mikaelsen has won the International Reading Association Award and the Western Writers Golden Spur Award. His novels have won critical acclaim, as well as several state reader's choice awards. These novels include Rescue Josh McGuire, Sparrow Hawk Red, Stranded, Countdown, Petey, and Touching Spirit Bear. Ben's articles and photos appear in numerous magazines around the world. Ben and his wife, Melanie, live in a log cabin near Bozeman, Montana, with a 700-pound black bear they have adopted and raised.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A short but well written sequel to a Wonderful Book, September 17, 2008

By 

W. mccallum "Mac" (Ocala, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghost of Spirit Bear (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not even close to the first book, July 11, 2009

By 

Reading teacher "jojomitty" (South Dakota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost of Spirit Bear (Hardcover)

I was very disappointed in this sequel to the wonderful Touching Spirit Bear. The sequel had none of the genuineness and authenticity of the first book. The writing and the plot situations seemed very contrived; none of it felt authentic. It is ironic that the first book, set on an island with a mythical spirit bear, seemed much more realistic than this sequel set in a modern-day high school. The writing seemed very stilted at times, and none of the characters were very well-developed. For instance, the grocery store owner who allows the boys to use her freezer seemed like she might be an interesting and important character, but she simply disappeared after the first few chapters.

I was also disappointed with the way the school, the teachers, and the principal were portrayed. The whole "violence and gang-ridden school with the uncaring staff who look the other way" is such an overused stereotype. None of those scenarios rang true or had any depth to them. The oversimplified conflict and the ultimate resolution also felt very contrived, rushed, and undeveloped.

I have loved all of the other Mikaelsen books I have read; unfortunately, this was not one of his best.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ghost of Spirit Bear, June 24, 2008

By 

Misty C. Arthur - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost of Spirit Bear (Hardcover)

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.