Hi! I recently reread one of my all-time favorite books, Ghost, to inspire me for Track this semester. I highly recommend this book for runners and anyone in need of a good book! I also recommend the other books in the Track Series by Jason Reynolds, Patina, Sunny, and Lu.
Castle Cranshaw, who calls himself Ghost, obsesses over sunflower seeds and world records. Sunflower seeds give him a connection to his father, who was arrested after trying to shoot at Ghost and his Mother while drunk. Ghost buys his sunflowers from Mr. Charles, a kind almost deaf old man who owns a convenience store near Ghost’s neighborhood, Glass Manor. Mr. Charles gives Ghost the book Guinness World Records. Through this book Ghost learns about Usain Bolt, world record holder in the 100 meter dash. Running wasn’t something that Ghost ever learned, it’s just something he has always known how to do. Ghost knew how to run ever since that fateful night with his father, when he and his mother had to run away as fast as they could from his father, and ended up hiding in Mr. Charles’ store’s storage closet. So, when Ghost sat in on one of the local track team’s practices and one kid, Lu, beat everyone in the 100 meter dash. Ghost wasn’t impressed. He promptly got up from his seat on the bleachers, where he had been munching on sunflower seeds, and raced Lu, the race ending up in tie. The Coach, Otis Brody, recognizes Ghost’s talent and gets him to join the team, on his mother’s condition that Ghost doesn’t get into trouble at school.
In Ghost by Jason Reynolds, running represents a way to escape from problems, but also a way to overcome trauma and move forward. Coach Brody says, “Trouble is, you can't run away from yourself... Ain't nobody that fast.” Ghost must learn to live with who he is, and what past events have happened to him and what mistakes he has made. Later, Coach adds, “You can't run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be.” This meant to Ghost that even though he had a traumatizing event with his father it didn’t give him the excuse to act up, in school and in life, forever. Track taught him to take initiative and discover the kind of person he really wanted to become.
Thanks for reading!
Clara
I read this book in fifth grade and I remember really enjoying it. I think it is cool that running represents both literal and metaphorical aspects of his life. I also really liked Patina from the track series. Im curious which book from the series is your favorite. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI remember vaguely reading that book, and all I remember was it being great. This nice review definitely portrays this book to what it seems to be, an inspiring story of someone with talent hidden within him he never even knew he had. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI kind of remember reading some parts of this book, but I don't think I remember the whole thing. For some reason, I kind of vaguely remember that the book cuts off before we find out whether Ghost wins the race or not, but I might not be correct. Overall, this book review was interesting, and I hope you do well in your track races.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post made me remember reading this book as a class in elementary school! I loved the book so much. Nice title, btw.
ReplyDeleteI've never read this book, but I have heard about it. It seems like it would be a good read. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fascinating read. It seems interesting that running not only represents running from problems, but also having the courage to overcome and run past them. Great review!
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