Ghost Soldier [Hardcover]

Elaine Marie Alphin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

The ghost of a young soldier from the Civil War haunts a troubled teen.

"I sat up. The jagged trenches were only soft grassy depressions in the sunny battlefield park. I felt tears burn my eyes, the relief was so strong, and then the misery of losing the ghost hit me."

Alexander has the ability to see ghosts. But it's been several years since his last encounter. When he reluctantly joins his father on a long trip away from home, a surprise awaits him. In the unfamiliar territory of North Carolina, Alexander is confronted by the ghost of a young soldier who lost his life in the Civil War. As an unusual friendship develops between the two, Alexander is drawn into a new reality where he comes face to face with the haunting past of his soldier friend. But can Alexander help this troubled ghost, and can he, finally, come to terms with his own disturbing past? With deftness and insight, Elaine Marie Alphin tells a gripping story that weaves the supernatural with the historical. Ghost story fans and Civil War buffs alike are in for a real treat.

 

Ghost Soldier is a nominee for the 2002 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Alexander has always been able to see ghosts, but no one except his mom--who left suddenly three years ago--has ever believed his stories. So when his dad drags him off on a trip to North Carolina to visit the woman he intends to marry, and Alexander begins to see visions of Civil War soldiers, he tells nobody--not his father, nor his hostess Paige, and certainly not her teenage daughter, Nicole. Instead he devotes himself to being unpleasant, clinging desperately to the belief that his mother will return.

The visions grow more and more real. Alexander even finds himself participating in a battle in the trenches, with mortars whizzing overhead. In the midst of his own terror, he witnesses the death of a young Confederate soldier his own age. Later that evening Richeson, the dead boy, appears again to Alexander, appealing to him for help in finding his sister, who was driven from their farm by Sherman's Marauders, but who has left a message for her brother in a metal box hidden in a tree trunk--a box that a ghost cannot open. In the course of solving Richeson's mystery, Alexander finds answers to his own problems. Middle-grade readers will enjoy this story that straddles three genres, and teachers will find its grounding in the actual events of the Battle of Fort Stedman a useful curriculum tie-in. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-7-Alexander Raskin is a special boy, which is why he sometimes sees ghosts from events long past. At least, that's what his free-spirited mother told him, before she left three years earlier to follow her inner drummer. Alexander hasn't seen ghosts for a long time, nor felt special, either. Least of all when he and his dad drive from Indiana to North Carolina for a visit with his father's girlfriend, Paige Hambrick, and her two children. Alexander is upset to learn that these strangers may become his stepfamily, and it's cold comfort that the oldest Hambrick kid seems equally unenthusiastic about the idea. By the time the group visits a Civil War battle site, Alexander's emotions are in turmoil, his supernatural ability suddenly reappears, and he falls into a "window through time." As if he didn't have troubles enough, he finds himself constantly accompanied by the ghost of a Confederate soldier who needs help finding out what became of his family after the war if he is ever to rest in peace. Reluctantly, Alexander agrees, and with unexpected help from the Hambricks, embarks on an adventure seeking answers to mysteries more than 100 years old. The story is an entertaining blend of paranormal, historical, and family themes, with a well-crafted plot that ties up all loose ends in a satisfying conclusion.

Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805061584
• ISBN-13: 978-0805061581
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Family Life > Marriage & Divorce

More About the Author

Elaine Marie Alphin knew she was going to be a writer before she could even read or write. On early morning walks with her father in San Francisco, she listened to the stories he told, and made up stories to tell him, and she realized then that she wanted to spend her life making up stories. Winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Mystery (Counterfeit Son), the ForeWard Book of the Year Award for Young Adult Fiction (The Perfect Shot), the Society of Midland Authors Children's Fiction Award and Young Hoosier Book Award (Ghost Soldier, also an Edgar Award nominee), the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award (Dinosaur Hunter), two Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators Magazine Merit Awards, and the Virginia State Reading Association Award (The Ghost Cadet), Mrs. Alphin has made writing for children and young adults, and speaking to them at schools and conferences, her dream career. Although she started out as a journalist in Houston, a tip from her husband, Art, drew her to writing for children. Her fiction and nonfiction books for youngsters from beginning readers through teenagers have been selected for Bank Street College lists, TAYSHAS lists, VOYA Top Shelf lists, and 20 Children's Choice state award lists. Although adults occasionally ask when she's going to grow up enough to write for them, Elaine Marie Alphin explains why she loves writing for young readers instead: "I always wanted my writing to challenge readers to question their assumptions, and I discovered that a lot of grown-ups don't really want to question their assumptions. They've made choices and compromises in their lives, and they want to feel comfortable about them. But young readers are still finding out who they are, like I am, I guess. They're the perfect audience for me because they want to consider new ideas in order to decide for themselves which ideas they agree with and which they don't, and work out how they want to live their lives." Elaine Marie Alphin has written one book for adults: Creating Characters Kids Will Love. It's about writing for young readers. Get to know Elaine Marie Alphin better at her website: www.elainemariealphin.com. The Alphins live in Bozeman, Montana, and spend time in South Dakota and Wyoming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alexander and the ghost of a soldier must find the truth..., January 20, 2002

By 

"shayamorph" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Soldier (Hardcover)

Alexander can see ghosts ever since he was a kid, and the only other person who knows is his mother. But when his parents divorce and his mother moves away, his father wants to marry Mrs. Hambrick as his new wife, and Alexander becomes angry and hurt by the changes in his family's life. He wants his mother to return. But his father knows that it's time to move on, and Alex isn't ready to make the decision. But the trouble deepens when the ghost of a Confederate Soldier, Rich Chamblee, asks for Alex's help. Alex is thrust into an unbelievable and deep adventure to help find the long-lost sister of Rich. With the help of Jesse Temple and a librarian named Ms. Edwards, the search deepens and the mysteries of the Confederate War begin to unfold before Alex's eyes. Alex becomes involved in not only a dangerous adventure, but in a desperate search to find the truth of Rich's past -- and in the fates of those who disappeared or were killed in war. Alex knows that he has to help his ghost soldier friend find out the truth about his past. But can he prepare himself for the dangerous plan and the dangerous adventure in store for him -- an adventure of his wildest and most unbelievable dreams -- to ultimately face the truth of a teenage ghost's history? Ghost Soldier, an amazing new novel that is an intriguing and powerful mix of both historical fiction and fantasy, is among the best books I have ever read. It is so enjoyable, and if the author would continue the adventures of Alexander's life even after this amazing story, it would be greatly accepted and appreciated.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read, June 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghost Soldier (Hardcover)

I was a little reluctant to start reading this book because I couldn't imagine that it would be as good as Counterfeit Son, but it was great. I was completely absorbed with Alex and his ghost. I truly could not put it down. This book is a must read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghost are for real!, April 24, 2006

By 

CoolTigersRule (Versailles, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Soldier (Hardcover)

In this book a boy named Alexander, from Indiana, and his dad go to North Carolina to met Mrs. Hambrick. They live with her and daughter Nicole and son, Charleton. While Alexander is down there they all go to a Civil War, or what the south called it The War between the States, battlefield. It is Fort Stedman, which the north took and won the war. While Alexander was there, he fell and woke up to a battle. There was a young man there named Richeson Francis Chamblee or Rich for short. Rich kept telling Alexander to help him. When Alexander gets back to the real world, he meets the ghost of Rich. Only Alexander can see, and talk to him. Rich needs him to trace his family so he knows that his family survived. If you want to know if his family survived, and Alexander helps, Rich you will have to read the book.
There is hardly anything in a book I did not like. It has all of my favorite kinds of stories put into one. It also goes to different things, and is not caught up in one thing.
In a book there is a battle so, if you like action books this would be a good book for you. If you like, mystery books this is a good book for you because new things always pop up, or things happen when you do not expect them to.