How I Became a Ghost

“You cannot keep your eyes on the bloody footprints you have left behind you. You must keep your eyes on where you are going.”

This week's book is one of those books that really gets you right in the gut. It leaves you with something we, in my home, call the book hangover. (Can I say that on here? Can I say hangover?) The book hangover is when you read a book that is so amazing, but so amazing in a way that leaves you unable to read anything else for awhile and unable to move on from what you just experienced. My longest book hangover lasted over a year and it was A Fault In Our Stars. A YEAR.... I read nothing for a year after I read it. 

This book has that same gut wrenching feeling; that same impression of how can life just move forward when my world has been shattered? 

I also cannot stop reading for a year, as one of my classes requires me to read 20 books this semester. So I am doing what I usually do after a book hangover and that is to speed date some books. I have about 6 I am reading off and on and just waiting on one to catch. 

Anyway... This book was incredible. How I Became a Ghost is the story of a young boy's journey on the Trail of Tears. The reader follows him through his view of the treaty talk and the fear it stirs in his parents; then the burning of their homes by the white community; then being given the smallpox infested blankets (insert feelings of white hot anger here. This was so disturbing to me even though I knew it had happened). The reader sees the deaths and pain and suffering through the eyes of this young man as he makes his journey and his time of death draws nearer.  

I really loved this book. It is part of a series and I would love to read more. My only criticism would be that his death felt a little skimmed over. I felt like it could have been more of a result of the circumstances than it appeared to be (that will make more sense if you read the book!). I don't want to spoil it for you should you choose to read this book, so I am not going to go into much detail here. I just felt like there should have been more as it was the turning point of the book. 

I hope you read this book. It is probably the best I have read so far this year. I think it is very important for our young people to know the ugly history of America and the injustices that happened here. This would be a great book for upper elementary who are learning about United States history or even state history as it will be on the same timeline. The main character will also be near the age of the reader if they are 4th-6th grade and that will likely make a huge impact on the reader as they see the bravery and suffering of someone their age. 

I highly reccomend this book!