I read this book for my YA book club. It's actually a middle grade book, but it definitely is a story that straddles the gap between grade school chapter books and YA in terms of themes. It's about a young black boy named Ghost, who is slipping through life undetected, and running from his circumstances until he stumbles upon a track team with a coach who can teach him how to just run.
This story hit a lot of similar notes as the movie Moonlight did for me, although the intended audience for the two works are obviously different, but there's an overlap and a common resonance in the two stories. One of the things that I really liked about Ghost was that it took a situation that we hear about often - a black boy being raised by a single mother, his father out of the picture under traumatic circumstances, no sense of community or connection he can grasp onto - and the story brings elements and people into his life that can help fill in those gaps. At times it feels almost too easy, but that's true of lots of stories for kids in this age range, with the difference being that usually a kid like Ghost never gets that happy ending, even in fiction.
At times I had that feeling of identifying far more with the adults that I did with Ghost, or wishing that he wouldn't do the not-great things that a kid would do, but obviously in some ways that's the sign of a book that's actually written for a kid and not for their parents. It's the first book in a series, with each subsequent book focusing on a different kid on the track team, and I would definitely recommend it to middle grade readers.
Grade: B
This story hit a lot of similar notes as the movie Moonlight did for me, although the intended audience for the two works are obviously different, but there's an overlap and a common resonance in the two stories. One of the things that I really liked about Ghost was that it took a situation that we hear about often - a black boy being raised by a single mother, his father out of the picture under traumatic circumstances, no sense of community or connection he can grasp onto - and the story brings elements and people into his life that can help fill in those gaps. At times it feels almost too easy, but that's true of lots of stories for kids in this age range, with the difference being that usually a kid like Ghost never gets that happy ending, even in fiction.
At times I had that feeling of identifying far more with the adults that I did with Ghost, or wishing that he wouldn't do the not-great things that a kid would do, but obviously in some ways that's the sign of a book that's actually written for a kid and not for their parents. It's the first book in a series, with each subsequent book focusing on a different kid on the track team, and I would definitely recommend it to middle grade readers.
Grade: B
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