English / USA
Ghost
Reynolds, Jason
(text)
New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, [2016]. – 181 p.
(Series: Track; 1)
ISBN 978-1-4814-5015-7
Self-fulfillment | Poverty | Running | Track and field
Reading age: 10+
White Ravens issue: 2017
Castle Crenshaw runs – fast. Nicknaming himself “Ghost”, he ran for his life when his father tried to shoot him and his mother, and has continued running ever since. But could he run better if he had those fancy running shoes instead of his cheap, ill-fitting hightops? Living in poverty, Ghost feels ashamed of where he lives and how he looks and sad for his mother who is overworked and tired. Walking home one day, he comes across a track team practising and ends up on the team with a coach who provides a much-needed safety net after Ghost makes some bad choices. Through his involvement with the team, Ghost learns to redirect his anger and behaviours. At one point, Ghost asks what Coach thought running would do for him. Coach’s reply: “Show you that you can’t run away from who you are, but what you can do is to run toward who you want to be.” This National Book Award Finalist combines compelling storytelling told in first-person with believable and well-developed characters facing moral dilemmas not entirely of their own making.