Ghost Soldier

by Elaine Marie Alphin

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805099379
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	08/01/2001
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 15 Years

About the Author

Elaine Marie Alphin is the author of several acclaimed novels, including The Ghost Cadet and Counterfeit Son. Elaine lives in Madison, Indiana.

Editorial Reviews

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.

School Library Journal

The ghost of a young Confederate soldier plays therapist to an angry 21st-century teen. It's been three years since his mother walked out on him and his father, but 13-year-old Alexander still hopes for her return—and blames his father bitterly for her departure. So when his father packs the two of them up for a weeklong vacation in North Carolina to visit an attractive widow he met at a conference, Alexander moves into high resentment gear, especially when he meets her dinosaur-loving son and equally resentful older daughter. The only thing that distracts him from his anger is the ghost he meets while touring a Civil War battlefield. The long-dead Rich's obsession concerns his sister: did she make it to safety before General Sherman's troops overran the family farm? Through Rich, Alexander learns a bit about history (this history dwells on the undeniable valor of the Southern troops and the brutality of their Northern opponents, but skims very lightly over the slavery issue) and a little more about family dynamics: "Your mother left for her own reasons, not because of you." While it's a little unclear how this dead 19th-century teenager could have such a firm grasp of soothing 21st-century bromides, it is certain that over the course of their search for evidence of Rich's sister's survival, Alexander learns to accept his mother's departure and his father's desire to move on. Alphin (Counterfeit Son, 2000, etc.) handles the moments when Alexander moves into the ghostly world with flair and atmosphere, but the outcomes of both Rich's quest and Alexander's inward journey are entirely predictable. A serviceable but not essential offering. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews