A National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read. Ghost wants to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school track team, but his past is slowing him down in this first electrifying novel of the acclaimed Track series from Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award-winning author Jason Reynolds. Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team--a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Running. That's all Ghost (real name Castle Cranshaw) has ever known. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons--it all started with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems--and running away from them--until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost: crazy natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed, or will his past finally catch up to him?Author: Jason ReynoldsPublisher: Atheneum BooksPublished: 08/30/2016Pages: 192Binding Type: HardcoverWeight: 0.65lbsSize: 8.30h x 5.40w x 0.90dISBN: 9781481450157Audience: Ages 9-12Accelerated Reader:Reading Level: 4.6Point Value: 6Interest Level: Middle GradeQuiz #/Name: 184102 / GhostAward: National Book Awards - FinalistReview Citation(s): Kirkus Reviews 01/01/0001Publishers Weekly 08/08/2016Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2016 pg. 136School Library Journal 09/01/2016Booklist 09/01/2016 pg. 106Shelf Awareness 09/06/2016Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 10/01/2016Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2016 pg. 86School Library Journal 12/01/2016 pg. 34Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2017 - Superior,Well Above AverageAbout the AuthorJason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was also the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Ain't Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin); and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. His debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston, won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.
