1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reynolds, Jason. Ghost. New York: Atheneum Books, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-4814-5015-7.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Castle "Ghost" Cranshaw doesn't know why he can run fast, all he knows is that he can, and he doesn't need any fancy clothes to do so. But one day while walking home from school, he catches a group of children his age at track practice and decides to take on the fastest runner there. To everyone's surprise, wearing street high tops and jeans, Castle keeps up with the team's fastest new sprinter. In response, Coach Brody decides to see if he can't help Ghost refine and strengthen his athletic gift by inviting him to join the team. What Ghost discovers is a lot more than how fast his feet can run, he finds a circle of friends he never knew he needed.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In Ghost, Jason Reynolds tells the story of an African American middle schooler Castle "Ghost" Cranshaw, who lives on the poor side of town with his single mother, who works full-time and goes to school. His father is in prison serving time for domestic abuse, and Ghost wanders around his neighborhood playing basketball (sometimes), eating sunflower seeds, and going to school without much direction, interest, or passion. What he does know is that he's a fast runner and he wants to be famous for something that will get him into the record books. When he gets the opportunity to train with a track team in the park, Ghost is unsure how he will fit into the team. Lu, the sprinter, is a definite competitor, but Patina, who is also a sprinter, welcomes him.
Ghost realizes that being a fast runner in short distances is very different than being a distance athlete, and he learns to respect and understand each of the kids on his team and to see them as whole people, and not just their track events. "I felt like they could see me. Like we were all running the same race at the same speed" (133). The track team also introduces Ghost to a more integrated social experience than the neighborhood where he lives.
What is more difficult for Ghost to work through is how to meet track team social norms -- knowing his mom can't afford fancy running shoes or track suits.
Through the love and discipline of Coach Brody, his neighbor, Mr. Charles, and his mom, Ghost learns that it feels good to be seen and recognized for hard work and perseverance. What is even better is having an adult (or three) in your life who see you for who you are trying to become, and always have your back, no matter how many mistakes are made or how big you try to talk.
Reynolds' shows how for some children, particularly those who have experienced trauma, racial discrimination, and poverty, finding adults who they can consistently count on to show up and care about them as a parent, a mentor, or a role model helps ground them into their lives. Many kids miss these connections at home and at school, where parents and teachers may be seen as disconnected oppressors, often in positions of power. Reynolds does an outstanding job with developing Ghost as the protagonist, recognizing that kids' realities are never perfect, and to deny teens' emotions about the state of their existence is dangerous and negligent. In Ghost's case, it was as if he was treading water for a long time, feeling all by himself, and by learning to run, he learned how to pull himself out of the water.
4. AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS
National Book Award Finalist
YALSA 2017 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults
CSMCL Best Multicultural Book of 2016
2016 Cybils Award Winner, Middle Grade Fiction
The Kirkus Prize, 2016 Nominee, Young Readers
NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children, Winner
Publishers Weekly Best Books 2016, Middle Grade
From Horn Book Magazine
"Reynolds has created a wonderfully dynamic character in Ghost; his first-person narrative is one with which young readers will readily identify. Conflicting emotions are presented honestly and without judgment."
From Publishers Weekly
"Ghost is a well-meaning, personable narrator whose intense struggles are balanced by a love of world records, sunflower seeds, and his mother."
5. CONNECTIONS
Ghost is the first of a series of four books Jason Reynolds has committed to writing about the Defenders track team participants. His second, Patina (ISBN: 978-1481450188) was recently released. In addition to this series, Reynolds has several middle grade fiction and young adult books that are reflective of the African American experience.
As Brave As You Are (ISBN: 978-1481415903) is at the same reading level and maturity of Ghost and Patina, but if your middle schoolers are interested in a story that has all of the heart of Ghost, but a little more teenage grit and angst, have them read Boy in the Black Suit (ISBN: 978-1442459519) or All American Boys (ISBN: 978-1481463348) and have them do an author study on Jason Reynolds.
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