Ghost by Jason Reynolds (208 Pages) is a book about a young boy who falls in love with running. His name is Castle Cranshaw. He loves sunflower seeds and Guinness World Records. He lives with his mom in Glass Manor (A low-income apartment complex). His mom works at the hospital and brings them food from the hospital for dinner. His dad is in jail for trying to shoot him and his mom. One day while Ghost was roaming around the city he found the track. The defenders (A city track team) were practicing there. He watched the practice and then decided to race the fastest kid and no one knew who won it that close. After the practice, he talked to the coach. The Coach (An ex-Olympian) wanted him on the team so they talked to his mom. His mom agreed with the exception he stays out of trouble and did he, of course, he didn’t. Ghost one day left school because people were making fun of him. They were making fun of his shoes after he cut them up. He headed for the sports store to look for new track shoes. He saw a pair, he called them the silver bullets. He waited until the worker looked away before he stuck them in his backpack and ran out. He thought the cops would be after him so he headed to Mr. Charles’s store. Mr. Charles is the one who supplies him sunflower seeds for a dollar. He went there and helped him out by putting things away. He went to the backroom and got trapped. He had flashbacks of him and his mom hiding there when they ran away from his dad. He gets out and starts running. He heads to the track and practices in the silver bullets. He then practices with them and waits until Friday for the newbie dinner. At the newbie dinner, they get Chinese on one exception. They share a secret no one knows. Ghost’s secret is about his father of course. He is so happy, there is only one week until the first meet. The week of the meet they get the uniform, but Ghost doesn’t. He gets a picture of himself with the word shoplifter. Coach knows he stole the shoes and he’s going to make him pay. What happens next, well you’ll have to read Ghost to find out.

The most heroic character in the story is Coach Brody. He is a savior to most people, including Ghost. He stepped in and took the role of his father. Without Coach Brody in the story, it wouldn’t be good. How he acts towards the kids and especially towards Ghost. He doesn’t care if you want his help or not, you are going to get his help. The important role he plays is how it’s so important to not worry about your past and focus on the future. He never lets his past haunt him and that makes him a hero because he shows kids even with a past you can do great things.

Another interesting character is Ghost’s dad. We don’t learn a lot about him, but we learn enough to know who he is. He is in jail for trying to kill Ghost and his mom, but Ghost still has mixed feelings about it. He wants him there but also doesn’t want him to hurt him or his mom. This story would not be complete without this character because then it would not be a kid with a past, but just a kid with nothing that has happened in his life. The important role he plays is allowing us to see that kids have fathers that aren’t there for them, but those kids can make up for it and do great things.

One very important passage from the story happens when Coach Brody is explaining how important it is to become who you want to be and not keep running from your past. ``You can't run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be.” Coach Brody says this to Ghost right after Coach is talking about his past. He tries to make sure that Ghost knows he has a past too and he has overcome that. They connect in a way that many of us can’t connect because they grew up in the same neighborhood and both have a past. The quote is explaining that Ghost can get places in life, but he can’t get away from who he is. As the plot develops, this quote becomes more powerful because Ghost realizes he can do things so he works hard to become a better person and runner. He works hard and owns up to his mistakes and it pays off because he finally gets his chance to run. You will never be able to get away from who you are, but you can go toward who you want to be. This is an important theme in the story because it helped Ghost grow in areas of his life where he needed growth.

Finally, this is a gold medal-worthy book. The reasons why it is a gold medal worth book is that it has important lessons, a fun, enjoyable plot, and great characters. The important lessons will teach many kids what to do. It also shows them they can do great things even if they have messed up. The plot in this book is perfect. It has great events that occur. From stealing shoes to cleaning a cab. This book is very fun and enjoyable. Without the characters in this book, it would not be good, but the characters make this book amazing. How they interact with each other and bond with each other makes it great. I recommend this book to all ages. Everyone can get a good laugh and lesson from this story. These reasons make the book Ghost amazing, go read it!