Characters
This once-angry protagonist is back from exile and trying not to punch people.
Cole Matthews
Peter is ambushed here after the lights go out.
The school bathroom
What is the current mascot that needs changed in Cole's school.
Bulldog
The authority figure who lets students pitch the mascot swap at the board meeting.
Principal Ms. Kennedy
The city where Cole’s high school is located.
Minneapolis
Cole’s former victim-turned-best-friend.
Peter Driscal
Cole is told to “fight with” this instead of his fists.
His heart
The predator-turned-protector animal the school hopes to adopt as its new mascot.
Spirit Bear
What caused Keith to wreck his skateboard
A sidewalk crack
The chilly store fixture where Cole and Peter try (and fail) to recreate island calm.
A grocery-store freezer
The principal who OKs a school-wide Circle and keeps the peace.
Ms. Kennedy
After Keith’s crash, Cole shows this quality by dropping the charges.
Forgiveness
The heavy objects the boys used to roll down hills on the island—and bowling balls back home.
Rocks / bowling balls
The family member who tells Cole he’s a disappointment, proving adults can be worse than bullies.
His father
The white-blanketed urban figure the boys mistake for a Spirit Bear.
The unhoused “Spirit Bear man”
The bully whose bathroom intimidation campaign ends in a head-first crash.
Keith
The name of the gathering that brought to the whole school so everyone can speak.
A Circle (Circle Justice) meeting
What does Peter want to give the homeless man.
the at.óow blanket
The item passed instead of a feather so every kid in the track field can be heard.
A bullhorn
The document the students collect instead of holding a vote to prove support for change.
Signed petitions
The parole officer who reminds Cole to “fight with your heart.”
Garvey
The petition for the mascot change ends up before this local governing body.
The school board
Rocks (ancestor stones) symbolize this big-picture theme of personal growth.
Personal healing / overcoming anger
This is where Cole first started fighting with his heart.
Outside the shopping mall
What did the homeless man make at the end of the book.
A carved wooden Spirit Bear statue