Ghost by Jason Reynolds is about running.
Thought it was about spirits, didn’t you?
Castle “Ghost” Cranshaw has run away from a lot of things in his life. The biggest one being from his inebriated father when he tried to unalive Castle.
When Castle crashes a track practice and finds out there is an entire sport about running, he impromptu tries out for the team, and gets in. His mother lets him join as long as he does his homework, and gets out of trouble. That might be harder than one thinks.
Now sports in a book can be a good tool to draw a reluctant reader to start reading. Yet Ghost is about track through and through.
Ghost is later shown as an ill-behaved teenager trying his best to get better to stay on the team.
Little does he know that the structure of the practices is what helps him keep good habits in school. Not only are the practices himself good incentives, but also the bonds he makes with his teammates. Speaking of teammates, they have thier own books in a series called Track.
This Staff Pick was contributed by Alex Hughes – Youth Services Librarian
A lot of teens have read the Ghost, but the library has the other books, plus one about Coach!
