Ghost Boy (Readers Circle (Prebound)) [Hardcover]

Iain Lawrence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2002 | Series: Readers Circle (Prebound)

Harold Kline is an albino--an outcast. Folks stare and taunt, calling him Ghost Boy. It's been that way all of his 14 years. So when the circus comes to town, Harold runs off to join it.

Full of colorful performers, the circus seems like the answer to Harold's loneliness. He's eager to meet the Cannibal King, a sideshow attraction who's an albino too. He's touched that Princess Minikin and the Fossil Man, two other sideshow curiosities, embrace him like a son. He's in love with Flip, the beguiling horse trainer, and awed by the all-knowing Gypsy Magda. Most of all, Harold is proud of training the elephants, and of earning respect and a sense of normality. Even at the circus, though, two groups exist--the freaks, and everyone else.

Harold straddles both groups. But fitting in with those who are "normal" comes at a price, and sometimes it's recognizing the truth beneath what's apparent that ultimately leads to happiness . . . and turns a boy into a man.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fourteen-year-old Harold Kline is an albino--white from head to toe, even his hair and his eyes that are like drops of water. His life is made unbearable by the other kids, who call him "snow" or "maggot," and ever since his father died and his brother was reported missing in Vietnam, his mother has become angry and withdrawn. And so Harold runs away, although it is a wrench to leave Honey, the elderly dog who has been his only comfort. And where would an albino kid on the run end up? In the circus, of course--in this case a down-at-the-heels road show where he is sheltered by a kindly lady midget and her huge man-beast companion and given hugs and unquestioning acceptance by the other "freaks." There he falls in love with the beautiful but duplicitous trick horseback rider and gains self-respect and the admiration of the other circus folks when he accomplishes the seemingly impossible feat of teaching the elephants to play baseball. But Gypsy Magda forecasts a "great harm" lurking in the future, and it has something to do with Harold's rejection of the "freaks" who have sheltered him as one of their own.

In this strange, moving novel, the author of sea adventures The Wreckers and The Smugglers has built a compelling metaphor for the universal teenage fear of being declared an outsider. With great emotional veracity, Iain Lawrence plays many intriguing variations on the theme of alienation in a work full of fascinating characters, marvelous scenes, and tragic surprises. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Lawrence seamlessly shifts from the open sea (The Wreckers; The Smugglers) to landlubber territory with this tale of an albino boy who runs off to join the circus. Although the novel's premise may be familiar, there is nothing conventional about the author's portrayal of this taunted hero growing up in a post-WWII America. In lyrical prose, the narrative probes the isolation and alienation of 14-year-old Harold, better known as "Ghost Boy." As the novel opens, Harold awaits a train that does not stop (two years after the war, he still hopes his brother will be on it), when the Old Indian from Hunter and Green's Circus approaches him, posing as an exotic lure. With his father and brother both claimed by the war, his mother remarried to a banker, and the townspeople tormenting him because of his looks ("From the soles of his feet to the top of his head, his skin was like rich white chocolate, without a freckle anywhere"), Harold dreams of heading west. The circus provides his ticket out. Depicting the circus as a microcosm of society, Lawrence effectively conveys the universal desire for acceptance and approval. His knowledge of the big top and insight into humanity add depth to his writing as do vibrant images of circus life and razor-sharp characterizations (e.g., the tiny Princess Minikin, fur-covered Samuel the "Fossil Man" and the compassionate Gypsy Magda, a Holocaust survivor). This poignant adventure invites readers to look beyond others' outer appearances and into their souls. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 326 pages
• Publisher: Perfection Learning (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756911036
• ISBN-13: 978-0756911034
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,122,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghost Boy Stands More Than a Ghost of a Chance, February 27, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Ghost Boy (Hardcover)

Ghost Boy, by Iain Lawrence, is the story of an albino boy named Harold. An albino lacks coloring matter in the skin, hair, and eyes, and so is very white in appearance. Harold lives as an outcast for the first part of his life, until he runs away to the circus. He is adopted by Princess Minikin and Fossil Man. For the first time, he begins to feel accepted by others. He meets another albino, the Cannibal King. He falls in love with Flip. Harold even teaches the elephants in the show to play baseball. But Harold finds that even here, there are the "freaks" and the others that are considered normal, and he is confused as to which group he belongs. Ghost Boy is an unforgettable book that entertained as well as captured my attention. I give it five stars and highly recommend it. It was an interesting book that held many emotions, including sadness, happiness, mysteriousness, suspense, humor, and anger. Ghost Boy helped me to understand the struggles and pain of those who feel they are different

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Big Question, June 7, 2006

By 

Donna M. Rademacher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Boy (Mass Market Paperback)

No two people are exactly alike; it is our differences that set us apart and make us unique. This is precisely the topic that author Iain Lawrence addresses in Ghost Boy. Through his use of visual imagery and foreshadowing, Lawrence is able to create an adventuresome tale of a boy who grows up to understand more about the world in which he lives.

Since the story is easy to read, it is the passages of lush imagery that keep the interest of the advanced. The entire story is based around Harold, a teenage albino boy who has no friends. He lives in a small town where his unusual looks are target for the other kids to bully him. His "skin like rich white chocolate" and his "eyes [of] such a pale blue that they [are] almost clear, like raindrops" make Harold extremely self-conscious about himself (1). However, through his growth and development, Harold comes to accept himself, despite his unusual appearance. Lawrence poses the question of who is to decide what makes someone normal in the first place?

Adding to the suspense that moves the story along is foreshadowing. When Harold decides to run away and join the circus, he meets the Gypsy Magda. She reads his tea-leaves one night and predicts three major events to happen in the near future. She mentions a young child that will be on death's door, yet will be saved, she talks about a great danger, and she claims that a devastating tragedy will occur. Around the middle of the book the first two predictions come true. The reader is then left wondering if any of various small occurrences could be the big tragedy that is predicted. However, it is not until the end that the reader realizes exactly what the tragedy is.

Although Ghost Boy is suitable for young adult readers, it is the more mature readers who will be able to pick up on the hidden meanings and lessons in the text. Lawrence encourages one to be more accepting of those who are different, while also writing a story to be remembered.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ghost boy, January 8, 2002

By 

"bhsstudent" (Barberton, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Boy (Hardcover)

The ghost boy was a really great book. The book was really intresting it started getting really scary in the middle of it . The ghost boy is a book that suprises you because it is a mind twister. I would really consider teenagers to read this book for a report , because they will be surprised when they find out what happens.