| Booktalk
#!
Alexander doesn't need any
more problems; he has enough of his own. On a visit to a Civil War battlefield
in North Carolina, he encounters the ghost of a young Confederate soldier
who is looking for a buried note left in a box he can't open. Can Alexander
possible help solve this one hundred-year-old mystery? (Jean B.
Bellavance for Pennsylvania
Young Reader's Choice Awards, 2003-2004)
Booktalk #2
Alexander has an extraordinary gift. He can see ghosts. Now
these are not just any ghosts, but historical figures from hundreds of
years ago. Twice in his life he has been able to peer through a portal
in time and watch history repeat itself. These two times however,
were before his mom disappeared. Right before his tenth birthday,
his mom left without a word. Alexander is convinced that she will
return, but his father has moved on with his life by filing for a divorce
and meeting another woman.
Mad at life, Alexander is forced to spend his spring break with his dad’s
new girlfriend and her two children in North Carolina. Yet as he
tries to find a place of peace and quiet away from the family, he stumbles
across the familiar aroma of oranges that could only mean one thing: there
are ghost nearby. Excited about the opportunity to see more ghosts,
Alexander finds himself in a tough situation when the ghost sees him and
begs him for help.
How could Alexander possibly help a ghost? What does the ghost want
from him? Will the ghost leave him alone if he refuses or will he
be haunted for the rest of his life? Find out what happens to Alexander.
Read Ghost Soldier by Elaine Marie Alphin. (Sandra M. Brundage, USC-MLIS
Intern, jimufl@bellsouth.net)
Booktalk #3
Alexander is a lonely thirteen
year old who lives in Indiana with his dad who is a computer geek. Alexander
strongly believes that his mom who deserted him and his dad three years
ago is going to come back. Alexander shares a secret that he has inherited
from his mom and this is his ability to see ghosts. During his spring break
from school, Alexander reluctantly goes with his dad to North Carolina.
His dad is anxious for Alexander to meet a woman that he wants to marry.
Alexander becomes angry and hurt and does not want any changes in his family's
life. He wants his mother to return. His father knows that it's time to
move on; but Alex isn't ready to make this change and move on with his
life. Alexander's vacation takes a turn when he ends up in Petersburg,
an old Civil War battlefield, expecting to see nothing more than a few
trenches and a historical reenactment but Alexander’s trouble deepens when
the ghost of a young Confederate Soldier named Richeson Francis Chamblee,
asks for Alex's help. Will Alexander help Rich find out what happened to
his family during the Civil war, especially his beloved sister, Louise?
In Ghost Soldier by Elaine Marie Alphin can Alexander help this troubled
ghost, and can he, finally, come to terms with his own disturbing past?
(Becky Proctor, jonseyreeves@aol.com,
school librarian) |
