A really Good Book Reveiw

Touching Spirit Bear: My Point of View

by: Jerimiah Hanson

Hi, my name Is Jerimiah Hanson. I would like to share with you, a chapter of a book that i like. The book is about trust and forgiveness. Cole Mathews, the main charictor is a troubled kid with a bad record. He is beeing introduced to a healing circle that will change his life and the ones he hurt. The circle justice is Going to send him to a special place.... The Island. Little does he know is that is where he is going to change his life.
  When Cole was on his way to the island, he was handcuffed. There was a security guard with him. He also had two Tinglat native Americans with him. One was a strong structured man named Garvey. The other was a pot bellied man named Edward. Wen they arrived at the island, the guard took off the hand cuffs, and walked away. That night, Cole tried to make an escape. He misarabely failed. Then out of anger and frustration, he burned all of his supplies and his shelter. When the fire died down he went over and found a charred knife. He took the knife and thought about the story that Garvey had told him. He had been told about the majic spirit bear. A pure white bear that was on the neighboring islands. When cole got deep into thought. When Cole started to focus on his surroundings, he notecsed the white figure of a bear.
  Cole was extremely astonished. Then just as it had appered, it dissapered. Cole felt a sudden rage that was building up inside of him. Cole broke out into a frenzy. He yelled at the bear calling him a coward. Cole did this until he fell tired. He planned to escape the next day. When he woke the next morning, he felt groggly. When he looked to his left he found the bear there again, not even fifty feet away. He got up with anger building again. Why isn't the bear scared of him he thought to himself. Cole went over to the woods, found a small birch tree with almost straight branches. He cut off the branch with the knife he had found. He sharpened it into a makeshift spear.
  When Cole turned around again, the bear was gone. Satisfied with the thought, he went fishing. He brought the spear down hard on the fish. He felt it wiggle and squrm. After that he fixed his meal, and sat for a while at the nice, warm fire he had built. Then deep in concentration, he thought back to why he was here in the first place.
  It all started with a deadly fight. He had found out that a kid named Peter had snitched on him. When Cole found out about it, he began imagining the bloody fight. After school, he cornered peter. He began pummeling him. He slammed his head into the ground repeatedly. When the kids pulled him off, he looked at the bloody, dismangled body of Peter. In satisfaction of his work, he made one last move. He spit at the poor boy.
  Cole came out of thinking to the sound of a twig breaking. He looked up in time to see the Spirit bear. Cole became outraged. He walked to the bear until he was only ten feet away. He charged the bear. The bear deflected his spear and flung Cole like he weighed nothing.
  Then the real attack began. The bear lunged at Cole, slamming him with brute force. The bear pawed at him, tearing flesh, and breaking bones. Cole fell to the ground, and the bear bit his right arm, breaking the bone. He flung Cole back and forth with the arm in the bears mouth. Cole used his other arm to beat the bear in the face. When Cole was almost out of effort, he gave one last swing. When the bear dropped him, it just hovered over him, like he was nothing but dirt. Then the bear gave one final effort. He placed his paw on Coles chest giving one last final push, in which broke several of Coles ribs.
  After the fight the bear walked away from Cole as if nothing had happened. It showed no satisfaction. When the bear was out of sight, Cole finally took a look at his suroundings. He had noticed that there was a big bird returning to her nest. Cole took a look at that for a while. He figured that the entire proces of life was in a big circle like Garvey had said. He watched the mama bird give food to her young. When Cole looked at the birds, he didn't feel outraged. He felt compassion. He was glad that the birds were alive. He was glad that they would get to live and live a full life.
  Cole Mathews sat there for two days when a storm finally hit the island. The storm was a very bad one. it sent lightning off right next to the tree. The tree split in half. Cole Mathews passed out after the lightning struck. When he woke with a sudden fright for the birds, he looked to the left to find the tree broken on the ground. Next to the tree was the mom'ma bird searching for her young. Cole looked at the tree trying to help to, when he found the small bird nest. He suddenly and unecpectidly, said in a soft tone, "are you ok".
  Cole again fell into a sleep, only to be awoken by the spirit bear towering over him. Cole wondered if it had come back to finsh what it had started, or if it thought he was already dead. Cole reached out to the bear and touched its fur. The bear made no sudden movements, but stood there silent and still. Cole pushed his hand through the fluffy white hair, to find the warmth of his skin. Cole felt a warmth of feelings on the inside. He found that the sirit bear was strong, confident, and proud. He could not be beat. This bear was the only thing keeping Cole alive. Cole found that the bear was filling him with strength, and determination to live.