Though he experiences family trauma, resulting in his father going to prison, and has committed a crime himself, the reader can tell he is sensitive and has a conscience. Coach Brody takes a chance on Ghost and gives him a future to run toward, but only if Ghost can learn to let go of the things he’s been running from.

He’s got a load of anger inside that he doesn’t know how to deal with so he tends to take it out on others at school. I can definitely see the appeal here with sports, single parent, outsider, urban, black representation and more.

But the craziest thing was, I felt like the shot—loudest sound I ever heard—made my legs move even faster. Charles is also the guy who gave me this book, Guinness World Records, which is where I found out about Andrew Dahl and Charlotte Lee. 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.

Ghost, otherwise known as Castle Crenshaw, is a boy on the run, a kid who runs fast and doesn’t look back. Ghost would be at home both in a middle grade and YA section, and thus is of interest to pre-teens and younger teens, especially ones who will see some aspect of their own lives reflected in Ghost’s. Ghost was a New York Times best seller and National Book Award for Young People's Literature finalist.I don’t know a whole lot about sunflowers, but I know they’re pretty and girls like them, and I know the word sunflower is made up of two good words, and that man ain’t got two good words in him, or anything that any girl would like, because girls don’t like men who try to shoot them and their son. More than just a sports story, it was a sensitive, realistic look at a young person dealing with trauma and trying to avoid the crushing effects of racism, poverty, and abuse. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school running team-a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. Running from mistakes (forgive the cliché), from very real threats, for your life, and for your team.