Ghost Books Should Be Allowed Middle School Students To Read

Do you think books with mature content should be allowed for middle school students to read? Ghost by Jason Reynolds is one of those books, and I believe we should allow children to read these stories. These books have mature content, and can bring up bad memories for students with a troubled childhood. The memorable characters, and life lessons taught, create a prodigious story that adolescence should be allowed to submerge themselves in.

In many ways “Ghost” is an intriguing and phenomenal book, and should be read to children around the world. This novel includes unforgettable characters that teenagers can look up to. For instance, the protagonist Castle, also known as Ghost, finds a way to escape from reality and do stuff for himself. This

The conversation between them went like this.“Who do you run for? He asked. What” who did I run for? What kind of a question is that? I run for it. Who else is going to be there? I replied.”(9%) This demonstrates how Castle finds a way to do something for himself rather than his peers. Middle school is a place where peer pressure takes place every day, where students feel pressured to do things for others like vaping, and physical touch. Ghost gives a good example of doing things for yourself, making a memorable character that teens can look up to. Jason’s writing in the novel Ghost portrays not only these characters but significant lessons that will influence a middle schoolers life. One example of this is when Ghost apologizes to a worker named Tia who worked at a sports shop where he stole a pair of expensive shoes. The book reads “I’m sorry I stated, and in that moment I realized a real apology can go a long way.Tias mouth went from a straight line to a little bitty smile. Not a big smile, but definitely not a frown, and that’s all that matters. Okay, she said, “I forgive you.”(83%) This quote shares the moral importance of apologies and forgiveness by proving that conflicts generate such deep and searing emotions. Even

The book contains parental abuse/ abandonment, bullying, gun violence, stealing, trauma, anxiety, ect. This is seen throughout the first chapter as it describes an incident where the main character is being chased down the street by his father who has a loaded gun and is trying to kill him and his mother. This is a major plot point throughout the story. The book states “As soon as she swung the door open, my dad fired a shot. He was shooting at us! My dad. My dad was actually shooting... at... US!. His wife and his boy!”(2%) This may be too inappropriate for young children and can make students feel uncomfortable and anxious. Despite the fact this story does a tremendous job of showing how to overcome hardships, this story may bring up bad memories for students with a troubled childhood. For example, Ma is telling Ghost about how his father went to jail; Ghost says “they gave him 10 years in prison, and to be honest, I don’t know if I’m happy about that or not.”(2%) In middle school, students come from all sorts of backgrounds, whether you know it or not. For scholars with parents in jail, this may be too harsh, and bring up trauma they have not fully recovered or grieved from resulting in a traumatic experience or breakdown. This story includes some topics that are not discussed in detail at school, and the book