Touching Spirit Bear (2001)

Fantastic book!
Cole is angry. His father is angry, drinks, and beats him. His mother drinks and doesn't stop the beatings. Cole is so angry that he beats another boy, Peter, badly enough he suffers brain damage. Some people believe that prison is too good for Cole but some don't. They feel that a system known as Justice Circle might come up with an alternative that could have better results. Peter's parents and lawyer, Cole's parents and their lawyers, two Tlingit Indians, several other people from the community, and the judge meet to discuss Cole and his problems. Their solution is banishment to an island in Alaska to live by himself for one year.
"Everyone thought he felt sorry for what he had done, and going to this island was his way of making things right. Nothing could be further from the truth. To Cole, this was just another big game."
Of course, the first thing Cole does when left on the island is burn down his shelter and supplies. That'll show them! An unusual species of bear, known as the Spirit Bear, shows up on the island, and darn if it doesn't show Cole any fear. How dare it! Cole fashions a spear from a sapling and the next time that bear shows his face, Cole attacks him with the spear and a knife. Cole is rescued two days later after laying on the beach with broken ribs, pelvis, leg, and arm. Not being able to move and suffering unimagineable pain might make some do serious reflection.
I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy survival stories and satisfying endings.
My rating for this book: +++++

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

"It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it."

Yes, it's yet another book about a down and out teenager rising above his circumstances and making a whole new life for himself. Or is it? Junior attended a school on a Spokane Indian reservation and hit the roof one day when he opened a "new" textbook and found out that it had been around so long his mother had it when whe was in high school! It was time for a change so he asked his parents to transfer him to an all-white school off of the "rez". Even though they knew they may not have enough money for gas to drive him there and back, they transfered him to Reardon. That's when the real fun started.

One of the things that always happens to our heroes in these books is that they connect with one of two people who befriend our hero and helps him get through the rough times. In this instance, Junior befriended a geeky guy named Gordy, a real departure from his friend from the rez, Rowdy, a bully who was repeatedly beaten up on by his father.

Another thing that frequently happens in this type of book is that our hero returns home to face the people he "deserted" when he went where they didn't dare to go. For Junior, this took place on a basketball court when his school Reardon, met the reservation school team on their home court. Junior walked out on the court with his team, the only non-white member, and the entire gymnasium went completely quiet. I think that would make most people's hearts sink, but our unusual hero responded by laughing! I'll let you read the book to see what happens from this point.

This book won the 2007 National Book Award and joins the ranks of wonderful youth literature including books like Holes and The House of the Scorpion.

My rating for this book: +++++