GHOST OF SPIRIT BEAR

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. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]