Ghost Boys is the story of Jerome, a 12 year old victim of another police shooting in Chicago. We learn his story as his ghost watches his family and community deal with his loss as well as through a series of flashbacks showing what led up to his murder. As Jerome is coming to terms with his death, his family is dealing with being thrust into the spotlight, he also meets a few other young people. He meets Sarah, who is the daughter of the police man who killed him. Sarah is also trying to understand how someone she loves could have made such a tragic mistake. Jerome also meets another ghost- Emmett Till- who was a young black boy murdered in the South in 1955 who is credited for kicking off the Civil Rights Movement.
This story was tough to read at times. The story is told in very short, choppy sentences, which leaves the reader feeling a bit unsettled - which is appropriate given the topic. It is hard reading about all the young people in this story- it is hard to make sense of these killings that seem to occur more often.
I'm not sure if this is a story I would want to read aloud, you would certainly need to open up the discussion so that students would be able to talk through the issues that are brought forward. I feel like this is a book that is going to stay with me for a long while. I'm going to lend it to a few other teachers to get their take on it, before deciding how I might use it in the fall. Regardless, it is going to be in my library come September.
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