Ghost by Jason Reynolds

There is much significance and great maturity when Ghost tells Coach he is afraid of himself. In other words, he does not want to end up like his father. He does not want to be anything close to being the same as his father. But not everyone is the same. Ghost does not have to be the same, either. As Ghost comes to practice with the team, he begins to recognize just how truly diverse the team is – from the albino Lu to the tall and pretty Patty (adopted by a white mother) to the wealthy Sunny. Everyone approaches the track and runs for a different reason – but Ghost does not yet know any of these reasons, These things will become apparent in coming chapters, but readers should keep in mind that running track is exposing Ghost to a diverse array of good people. Ghost finds himself longing to fit in among them, but his accident at track – where his shoes come off and he crashes – becomes a source of humiliation for him. His shoes, specifically, become symbolic of that humiliation, and will test his character in coming chapters.

-Molly, Charlotte & Lucky