Touching Spirit Bear

Touching Spirit Bear
Author: Ben Mikaelsen
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2010-04-20
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062009680

In his Nautilus Award-winning classic Touching Spirit Bear, author Ben Mikaelson delivers a powerful coming-of-age story of a boy who must overcome the effects that violence has had on his life. After severely injuring Peter Driscal in an empty parking lot, mischief-maker Cole Matthews is in major trouble. But instead of jail time, Cole is given another option: attend Circle Justice, an alternative program that sends juvenile offenders to a remote Alaskan Island to focus on changing their ways. Desperate to avoid prison, Cole fakes humility and agrees to go. While there, Cole is mauled by a mysterious white bear and left for dead. Thoughts of his abusive parents, helpless Peter, and his own anger cause him to examine his actions and seek redemption—from the spirit bear that attacked him, from his victims, and, most importantly, from himself. Ben Mikaelsen paints a vivid picture of a juvenile offender, examining the roots of his anger without absolving him of responsibility for his actions, and questioning a society in which angry people make victims of their peers and communities. Touching Spirit Bear is a poignant testimonial to the power of a pain that can destroy, or lead to healing. A strong choice for independent reading, sharing in the classroom, homeschooling, and book groups.

Ghost of Spirit Bear

Ghost of Spirit Bear
Author: Ben Mikaelsen
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2011-03-29
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062033638

In award-winning author Ben Mikaelsen’s riveting sequel to the acclaimed word-of-mouth bestseller Touching Spirit Bear, readers will be captivated by what Booklist calls a “hugely satisfying resolution.” Life in the wilderness—exiled from civilization as a punishment for his violent behavior—had its own set of hurdles, but for fifteen-year-old Cole Matthews, it's returning home and facing high school that feels most daunting. With gangs and physical altercations haunting the hallways of their school, Cole and his former victim Peter—who Cole has now become friends with—must face it all together. So when Peter’s limp and speech impediment make him a natural target for bullies, Cole’s suppressed rage comes bubbling to the surface a lot quicker than he anticipated. Will he throw everything away that he learned on the healing, remote Alaskan island? In this tale of survival and self-awareness, Cole realizes it's not enough to change himself. He has to change his world.

Stupid Fast

Stupid Fast
Author: Geoff Herbach
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2011-06-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1402256302

Just before his sixteenth birthday, Felton Reinstein has a sudden growth spurt that turns him from a small, jumpy, picked-on boy with the nickname of "Squirrel Nut" to a powerful athlete, leading to new friends, his first love, and the courage to confront his family's past and current problems.

Everyday Use

Everyday Use
Author: Alice Walker
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 1994
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780813520766

Presents the text of Alice Walker's story "Everyday Use"; contains background essays that provide insight into the story; and features a selection of critical response. Includes a chronology and an interview with the author.

Petey

Petey
Author: Ben Mikaelsen
Publisher: Turtleback Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2000-04
Genre: Cerebral palsy
ISBN: 9780613150729

In 1922 Petey, who has cerebral palsy, is misdiagnosed as an idiot and institutionalized; 60 years later, still in the institution, he befriends a boy and shares with him the joy of life. An ALA Best Book For Young Adults for 1999.

Jungle of Bones

Jungle of Bones
Author: Ben Mikaelsen
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2014-01-28
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0545633621

Lost and alone in the jungle, one boy will have to let go of his assumptions and anger, or be dragged down with them. Dylan Barstow has finally crossed the line. After getting caught on a late-night joyride in a stolen car, Dylan is shipped off to live with his ex-Marine uncle for the summer. But Uncle Todd has bigger plans for Dylan than push-ups and early-morning jogs. Deep in the steamy jungles of Papua New Guinea, there's a WWII fighter plane named SECOND ACE that's been lost for years, a plane that Dylan's own grandfather barely escaped from with his life. In all this time, no one has ever been able to track down SECOND ACE -- but now Dylan and his uncle are going to try.Lush and haunted, vital and deadly, these alien jungles half a world away could mean Dylan's salvation, or they could swallow him whole.

The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried
Author: Tim O'Brien
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2009-10-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0547420293

A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. Taught everywhere—from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing—it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing. The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

The Rescue Josh McGuire: Rescue Josh Mcguire

The Rescue Josh McGuire: Rescue Josh Mcguire
Author: Ben Mikaelsen
Publisher: Hyperion
Total Pages: 272
Release: 1991-09-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781562820992

When thirteen-year-old Josh runs away to the mountains of Montana with an orphaned bear cub destined for laboratory testing, they both must fight for their lives in a sudden snowstorm.