Ghost by Jason Reynold

Castle Crenshaw (he goes by Ghost) lives in a rough neighborhood.  His dad is serving time and his mom barely makes enough to put food on the table.  Ghost can't stay out of trouble at school, but when he gets a chance to be on an elite track team he is motivated to keep in step both on the field and in class.  For the first time he feels like he is a part of something, but when his past and his poor decisions catch up with him, he is at risk of losing it all.

This book has received a lot of starred reviews.  I liked it.  It was an above average social issues novel.  Some social issues novels try to stuff as many different issues as they can into one story.  This story sticks to one, poverty, and handles it in a very sympathetic and believable way.  As I read the book I thought, yeah, this could totally happen, and things like this probably do all the time.  If this ends up winning some awards, I won't be surprised or disappointed. (181 p)