Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen, is an amazing book that I think everyone should read. It is a realistic fiction book about a young adult who has to change his ways or go to jail. It is a high quality that I would personally rate 10 out of 10. It is a great book for teenagers to read. 
The book begins with a young man, named Cole Matthews, who is given a choice: go to jail or go through the Indian justice circle. He chooses the justice circle, thinking he could get past it easily by lying. The Indian justice circle sends him to an island in Alaska where he is attacked by a wild animal. As he is badly injured, he changes from a violent person to a caring person. He knows he changed, but to prove it he has to return to the island. When he returns the island, he learns the person he attacked, tried to commit suicide. He knows how to help the victim but his parole officer doesn’t trust him. Will he succeed or will he fail?
The theme in Touching Spirit Bear is there is good in all of us. As I said previously, Cole is a violent person in the beginning of the book and then he becomes nice enough to help the person that he beat up. Mikaelson uses a lot of Author’s craft, but he especially uses descriptive words throughout the whole book. I think he uses description to highlight how Cole becomes nicer. At the beginning the author is very descriptive about Cole’s negative feelings and at the end he is very descriptive about how Cole has changed and how he wants to help Peter, his victim. The setting is mostly at an island off the coast of Alaska. The point of view in my book is third person limited. The mood is angry when Cole talks about his feelings, the mood is suspenseful when he gets attacked, and the mood is hopeful when he helps Peter recover.
I like the book for many reasons. It has a good plot and a very good ending, which I won’t spoil for people who haven’t read the book. Another reason I like the book is because it has a universal theme that can apply to everyone. The main reason is that it is a good story about the transformation of a violent teenager to a nice person. The writing was very moving because the main character’s transformation happens because a lot of important things happen to him which make the writing moving. I think the author achieved his purpose because the story is very entertaining and I think it is a very good book to read.
In conclusion, I think this book deserves a 10 out of 10 for many reasons. It is a good book, with a universal theme, and a lot of Author's Craft. This book made a very good impression on me and It will have a very good impression on people who read it. I want the reader to know that there is a lot of good description in the book and that isn’t the only reason to read the book. The sum up my report, this book is definitely a good book to read.