"Steinbeck's Ghost"

"Steinbeck's Ghost" by Lewis Buzbee is another book I recently read. Although I located it browsing through the teen section of my library, I'd recommend it for anyone.

Travis Williams moves with his parents a few blocks away to a new subdivision but the change in his life is so drastic that he might as well have moved to the moon. He makes a new friend but his parents are always at work and he misses the family closeness they used to share in their old home and neighborhood and their regular visits to the library.

Without telling his parents Travis begins to return to the old neighborhood to visit the library and discovers the library, in John Steinbeck's home town with his statute out front, is going to close for lack of funding. A wise librarian helps him see that circumstances can be changed if you work towards a solution and he becomes involved with the committee working to save the library. As a result, his life and his friend and his family's lives are all changed -- for the better, I think. He also develops some strong friendships that span across the generations.

Interwoven in the story are the books Travis loves at the library -- the ones he's read over and over and he becomes involved in chasing down "ghosts" -- stories behind the stories written by John Steinbeck. There's a little mystery to be solved and an introduction to a lot of books I have yet to read!

pazt