Please provide details about the main character of Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen.

Fifteen-year-old Cole Matthews is the main character of
Ben Mikaelsen's novel Touching Spirit Bear. He is the protagonist
of the story, but for most of the novel he is busy antagonizing anyone he can, any
chance he gets. 

Matthews is a troubled boy whose parents
(who both have alcohol problems) are divorced and his father is abusive, prompting his
bad behavior. Though his home life is not ideal and his father is impossible to please,
the boy clearly makes his own bad choices which get him in serious trouble. He robs a
hardware store and gets caught; it is certainly not the first time he has been in
trouble, but it is the first time he has not been able to get out of
it.

The boy's next crime is murder; he nearly kills another
boy.

[A]fter
school, Cole cornered Peter outside in the parking lot. With anger that had been brewing
all day, he attacked him and started hitting him hard in the face with his bare fists.
Peter was no match, and soon Cole had pounded him bloody. A dozen students stood
watching. When Peter tried to escape, he tripped and fell to the ground Cole jumped on
him again and started smashing his head against the
sidewalk.

The only thing that
keeps Matthews from having to spend much time in prison is the belief two men have in
him and in a kind of healing process called Circle
Justice. 

Matthews is dropped off on an isolated,
uninhabited island in Alaska; he must stay there alone for one year. He is given basic
supplies and some help building shelter, but the rest is up to him. He lies, saying he
was ready to change, just to escape being locked up; once he is on the island, he
unsuccessfully tries to escape by swimming away.

The legend
of the Spirit Bear says that whatever anyone does to the white bear (or any of the
animals on the island) is what that person does to himself. If he chooses to, Matthews
can become a better person during his time on the island. The boy has several encounters
with the Spirit Bear, one of which nearly kills him. He is removed from the island so he
can heal, and Matthews determines to make a change.

He goes
back to the island after spending some time in prison and without the full use of his
right arm. While in prison, he learned how to release his anger in less destructive
ways. This time he goes to the island willingly and with a good attitude. He is sorry
for what he did and tries to make it up with Peter. Things change so dramatically that
he is able to make a kind of peace with Peter, the boy he nearly
killed.