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Ghost
(Track #1)
by
Running. That's all that Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But never for a track team. Nope, his game has always been ball. But when Ghost impulsively challenges an elite sprinter to a race -- and wins -- the Olympic medalist track coach sees he has something: crazy natural talent. Thing is, Ghost has something else: a lot of anger, and a past that he is tr
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Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
August 30th 2016
by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
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This is a generalization, but in my experience librarians really enjoy reading within their comfort zones. They’ll travel outside of them from time to time but always they return to the books that they like the most. Children’s librarians are just the same. The fantasy readers stick to fantasy. The realism fans go with realism. Graphic novel readers with comics. When I served on a yearly committee of librarians in New York I’d notice that some books were difficult to get anyone to read. Horse bo
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You could pass this book to hundreds of kids and they will love it. Delighted that Jason Reynolds is writing a series for middle grade readers, so kids can grow up with his books.
Sep 26, 2016
Hannah Greendale
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
middle-grade,
national-book-award-nominee
Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
Ghost is a deeply moving book with several important messages for young readers.
Castle Crenshaw goes by the name Ghost, because he's a wicked fast runner. The first time he ran -- truly ran -- he was running for his life: running ain't nothing I ever had to practice. It's just something I knew how to do.
Now that he's older, Ghost puts his natural talent to work by running track. But he's not just running t ...more
Ghost is a deeply moving book with several important messages for young readers.
Castle Crenshaw goes by the name Ghost, because he's a wicked fast runner. The first time he ran -- truly ran -- he was running for his life: running ain't nothing I ever had to practice. It's just something I knew how to do.
Now that he's older, Ghost puts his natural talent to work by running track. But he's not just running t ...more
I saw this on some award nomination list--I can't remember which one. And I don't really care which list it was--Ghost ought to win. It should win all the awards. It's a spectacular book with a perfect voice and exquisitely told story. I cried through the last 20% or so of the book. It's not sad--it's just beautiful enough to move a cracked chunk of concrete to tears. Despite the fact that the protagonist, Castle, is a dirt-poor black kid and I grew up in a middle-class white family, I could ide
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Wish I would have had this book alongside all my Beverly Cleary books back in middle school. Like Cleary, Jason Reynolds clearly remembers what it was to be a kid — the private humiliations, the silliness, the outsized misconceptions, the way the tiniest bit of support can change a day.
I thought this was utterly fantastic. In my opinion, this should be required reading in schools everywhere.
I'm excited to read more by Jason Reynolds. He's an outstanding author.
I'm excited to read more by Jason Reynolds. He's an outstanding author.
Oct 27, 2016
Book Riot Community
added it
This was just a pitch perfect middle grade / youngish YA book that was a total delight from start to finish. I’ve been trying to read some boys marketed to boys to round out my librarian knowledge and this was a great start. I have to say that as someone who has very little interest in sports, I was surprised at how much I liked this story about a 13-year-old urban black kid Castle Crenshaw, aka “Ghost,” joining a track team. More than just a sports story, it was a sensitive, realistic look at a ...more
Dec 10, 2018
jv poore
marked it as to-read
When a 13-year-old boy tells me, "I hate to read. But. Have you read Ghost by Jason Reynolds? 'Cause that's awesome!" I am absolutely adding that to my stack.
I've never met a Jason Reynolds book I didn't like.
Jason Reynolds' dialogue and characters feel so real to me, and when the characters do things, even things I don't particularly like, as Ghost does at one point in this story, I follow along, knowing Reynolds will take me on an interesting journey.
Ghost and his mother are not well off; his father attempted to shoot them one drunken night, and Ghost retains a certain amount of fear and desire to run from that traumatic night. His mother, meanwhile, is struggling financially, and is studying to be ...more
Ghost and his mother are not well off; his father attempted to shoot them one drunken night, and Ghost retains a certain amount of fear and desire to run from that traumatic night. His mother, meanwhile, is struggling financially, and is studying to be ...more
BOOM! Third time reading this and it still pulls me straight through each time.
from a 5th grader today: "I loved how you feel like you're Ghost. You get mad at someone, then forgive them. It feels like your emotions are building up until Ghost takes the shoes. Then they break when his coach brings him back to the store." definitely reaching kids in Berkeley!
from a 5th grader today: "I loved how you feel like you're Ghost. You get mad at someone, then forgive them. It feels like your emotions are building up until Ghost takes the shoes. Then they break when his coach brings him back to the store." definitely reaching kids in Berkeley!
Our hero is a young boy who is braver than he knows. He is a natural runner. As a child he ran for his life and as a teen his gift is discovered by a track coach. The sport gives him purpose and helps him uncover his courage.
Mar 23, 2017
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
american,
black,
audiobooks,
class,
fiction,
kids,
kids-poc,
middle-grade,
reading-in-colour
A total delight from start to finish, Ghost is a deceptively simple story about 13-year-old urban black kid Castle Crenshaw, aka “Ghost.” One day while killing time in the park, he stumbles upon a track practice and ends up racing one of the fastest kids on the team—and winning. Impressed, the coach offers Ghost a spot on the team. Kind of against his better judgement—he’s always thought of himself as a basketball player even though he’s not on a team—Ghost joins up. He soon discovers that the o
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Jason Reynolds is such an amazing man. This is the second book that I've read by him and was not let down by a long shot. Ghost focuses on the challenges faced by a young boy who goes by the nickname of Ghost. Ghost is a complex character that deals with some pretty hefty issues. It is through these issues that he joins a track team and learns more about himself and others. This book was heartfelt and definitely teaches kids a great lesson about not letting certain situations define your charact
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I haven't been reading a lot of MG, but GHOST was awesome. The voice and the writing were just outstanding. GHOST was fantastic.
When I go out to the schools to booktalk, twelve books in tow, I occasionally get the question of which of the year's books is my personal favorite. I have a couple favorites this year (like most years), but this one is almost always the first I mention. Largely because it's the first of its kind.
Last year, the national Summer Reading Theme was sports. When preparing the district teen booklist, my coworker was in charge of including Running/Track books. And She Could Not Find a Single Young Adul ...more
Last year, the national Summer Reading Theme was sports. When preparing the district teen booklist, my coworker was in charge of including Running/Track books. And She Could Not Find a Single Young Adul ...more
Reynold's voice here for Ghost is authentic, consistent, and raises this from an enjoyable beginning to a series to something more. Superb dialog, real situations, fabulous description (I can just see the shoes), and impressive characters. Having trained with a coach as part of an adult track club decades ago I can vouch for the authenticity of the workouts, say those "fart licks" (the real term is fartlek ---a Swedish word for exactly what Ghost and his team mates do). I look forward to further
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The words on these pages simply vibrate with urgency, authenticity, and energy. Capturing a middle school boy - on paper - takes some real skills. Ghost is not a caricature of a middle school boy growing up in the projects with a single mother: Jason Reynolds embodies this boy from the inside out, makes him breathe, and come to life. Hand to your middle school boys, especially those who connected with Kwame Alexander, sports, and running.
Sir, who gave you permission to speak to me through your writing like that?
Of middle-grade education professionals and middle-grade novel enjoyers, I am definitely in the minority of this one. I had such high hopes for this book to be a companion read to The Crossover by Kwame Alexander with my 6th graders. My sixth graders are reluctant readers who like fast paced, realistic fiction with characters they can root for. Was this book fast paced? Not at all. Even though it is only 180 pages, I found myself absolutely bored and took about a month-long break after getting h
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Jason Reynolds is a master of voice and dialog; the audiobook narration was fantastic. I felt like Ghost was actually sitting with me and telling me the story. I would highly recommend the audio for this title!
Castle Crenshaw (or Ghost, as he wants to be called) knows he can run fast. He knows because when his dad came at him and his mother on one violent night, running was the only way to get away. Life hasn't been super kind to Ghost - the kids at school make fun of him because he's poor and h ...more
Castle Crenshaw (or Ghost, as he wants to be called) knows he can run fast. He knows because when his dad came at him and his mother on one violent night, running was the only way to get away. Life hasn't been super kind to Ghost - the kids at school make fun of him because he's poor and h ...more
It's no secret that I love everything with Jason Reynolds's name on it, but GHOST was really something special. It follows an impoverished kid name Castle "Ghost" Cranshaw who accidentally joins a recreational track team after beating the team's fastest sprinter in an impromptu race. Castle's been through a major trauma, and as his self-given nickname--GHOST--suggests, he does his best to move through the world under the radar to avoid trouble.
Of course he fails. And that's what I loved about t ...more
Of course he fails. And that's what I loved about t ...more
It's Newbery reading time, so I picked this up - and color me impressed. By the book, that is. Which is to say: I closed this and did not think of a medal (though I won't be upset if this book wins one).
This reads like a middle grade staple. It skews younger in length, depth of story, and complexity. That's not a dig. This isn't very long, and the story takes place over a short period of time, meaning there's not a lot of ground covered. Nor are there complex structural or thematic approaches. ...more
This reads like a middle grade staple. It skews younger in length, depth of story, and complexity. That's not a dig. This isn't very long, and the story takes place over a short period of time, meaning there's not a lot of ground covered. Nor are there complex structural or thematic approaches. ...more
A story about being in an impossible situation but still being able to find the good. Short, sweet, funny and powerful.
A quality middle school reader book, which I liked much better than Reynold's All American Boys. Castle Cranshaw, who prefers to be called “Ghost,” has been running for three years, since the night his father shot a gun at him and his mother. When he gets recruited by a track coach for a running club, they strike a deal: if Ghost can stay out of trouble, he can run for the team. Naturally, Ghost makes poor decisions at the outset, but the hard love/support he gets from Coach and eventually from
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It's really easy to fall in love with Jason Reynolds' style. He has this ability to take what one thinks is a relatively straightforward plotline and augment it with excellent character development. Bringing to life a middle school kid is no joke, and Reynolds does it seamlessly in this story of Castle Crenshaw (a.k.a. Ghost), a black kid growing up with a single mom in a not-great neighborhood, who accidentally ends up on a track team. In addition to all this, he's dealing with altercations at
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I read this book as part of a reading group for The Great American Read. It's not something I would normally have picked up on my own. I'm definitely not in the target demographic for this book, but I did enjoy it and can appreciate a number of things about it. The first-person perspective was done well. The voice of the main character seemed authentic. I think this would be a great book for a 12-14 year old kid. As an adult, it seemed a little clichéd to me at points and I could see right where
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Just last week I finished and loved Long Way Down and decided to go with another one of his books. This one is part of a trilogy, involving a teenage boy joining a track team. They are fast, funny and smart, with just the right amount of depth. They are also perfect on audio. I do not read much YA, but when they are done this well, I will try to make time.
Itsa good one, my dudes.
This was a good book... definitely good for middle schoolers but I loved the ending the best, how it connected to his past... yeah it was good!
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great American Re...: July 1 - 21, 2018—GHOST—Jason Reynolds (Track Series—Book 1 of 4) | 31 | 22 | Jul 22, 2018 08:48AM | |
| The Great America...: Ghost | 7 | 40 | Jul 16, 2018 03:20PM |
After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where you can often find him walking the four blocks from the train to his apartment talking to himself. Well, not really talking to himself, but just repeating character names and plot lines he thought of on the train, over and over again, because he’s afraid he’ll forget it all before he
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Other books in the series
Track
(4 books)
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“You can't run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be.”
—
83 likes
“Trouble is, you can't run away from yourself." Coach snatched the towel from his shoulder, folded into a perfect square, and set it in the space between us. "Unfortunately," he said, "ain't nobody that fast.”
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22 likes
More quotes…
Mar 20, 2019 12:19PM
Mar 20, 2019 09:15PM