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 exile 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.
Ben Mikaelsen's riveting saga of survival and self-awareness continues in the sequel to his gripping Touching Spirit Bear. This time, he weaves a tale of urban survival where every day is a struggle to stay sane. As the problems in his school grow worse, Cole realizes that it's not enough just to change himself. He has to change his world.
Angry Cole, a former bully, and Peter, the boy he once beat into mental illness, are back from their experience of healing on an Alaskan island. How do they translate the spiritual lessons they learned to the world of their violent, drug-ridden Minneapolis high school? Not easily! The boys, who once cleared their minds of anger by immersion in frozen ponds, now sit in a freezer. Instead of carrying ancestor rocks up mountains, they carry bowling balls up deserted staircases as they struggle against apathy and bullying. Jason Harris's narration portrays the boys' determination to change as well as the bumps in their relationship and the challenges in their adjustment to school. Harris's strong vocal characterizations downplay the story's preachiness and lend believability to Cole and Peter's transformations. S.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
