Ghost

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade contemporary
• Originally Published: 2016
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 730L; grades 5-6
• Structure/Length: 10 chapters; approx. 208 pages; approx. 3 hours, 29 minutes on audio
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: Castle, Lu, Patina, and Sunny come from different backgrounds, but they have the chance to get to the Junior Olympics by running on their middle school track team. Castle has been running his entire life, first away from a violent home and then away from his problems. Coach sees something great in Castle and encourages him to stay in track and become the best sprinter in the city.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Domestic violence; bullying; drug and alcohol use; gun violence

Jason Reynolds, Author

• Bio: Born in 1983; inspired by Queen Latifah’s third rap album to start writing poetry at age 9; one of his earliest poems was about his grandmother’s death, which was printed in the program at her funeral; graduated with a BA in English at University of Maryland; exposed to Black literature working at a bookstore during college; honored with several Coretta Scott King Award honors, as well as a Newbery Medal honor and Carnegie medal; was a finalist for two National Book Awards; Library of Congress named him national ambassador for young people’s literature in 2020
• Other Works: When I Was the Greatest (2014); All American Boys (2015); Long Way Down (2017); Look Both Ways (2019)
• Awards: Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fiction (2016); Kirkus Prize nominee (2016); National Book Award finalist (2016); Charlotte Huck Award (2017); Odyssey Award honor (2017); Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award (2019); William Allen White Children’s Book Award (2019)