Throw Back Thursday

Throwback Thursday is a meme started by Taste Life Twice and is a post about a book that has been out for a while that deserves to be talked about again because yes, it was that good!

My Throw Back is:

 

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

 

I read this book several years ago and loved it.  I started reading it aloud to my students, and read it aloud for 3 years in a row.  Last year Ben Mikaelsen came to our school for an author visit.  He was the kindest man and treated the students who got books signed as if he had all the time in the world for them.  The highlight was when he came into my classroom unexpectedly to say goodbye to my students. 

 

If you haven't read this book I suggest you do.
 
Summary from Barnes and Noble

Within Cole Matthews lie anger, rage, and hate. Cole has been stealing, fighting, and lying for years. His attack on a classmate has left the boy with permanent physical and deep psychological damage and Cole in the biggest trouble of his life. To most, Cole seems beyond hope. But when he's offered a chance at an alternative path called Circle Justice, based on Native American tradition, Cole finds himself banished to a remote Alaskan island, where his rage and isolation lead him to another brazen attack. This time, his intended victim is the Spirit Bear of Native American legend—and the clumsy assault ends with Cole mauled nearly to death, desperately clinging to the life he has tried so hard to waste.

Rescuers arrive to save Cole's life, but it is the attack of the Spirit Bear that is the start of Cole's long journey to accepting responsibility for his life and saving his soul.