Wilkin's Ghost

Coley Boys #2

by Robert Burch, Lloyd Bloom (Illustrator)

A boy living in rural Georgia in 1935 befriends an accused teenage thief he believes is innocent.

152 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 1978

About the author

Robert Joseph Burch (June 25, 1925 – December 25, 2007) was an American writer of 19 children's books whose readers are "usually young adolescents". Many of his stories are based on his childhood experiences in rural Georgia during the Great Depression. He was born in Fayette County, Georgia, and spent the majority of his life there.

Reviews

[Palmer Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fourth Robert Burch book that I've read and, yes, I call myself a Burch fan. The books are classified as young adult fiction but as I read them as I am approaching the end of my seventh decade of living, I can say that they can be enjoyed by readers of any age.
"Wilkin's Ghost" is the story of Wilkin Coley, the middle brother of three (Tyler, Wilkin and Skee) as he works and plays on the Coley's rural Georgia farm in the 1930's. Wilkin befriends a runaway boy and tries to help him do the right thing.
There is a realism to Burch's stories that set them apart from your usual young adult fiction. No sugar coating here just life as it is with its joys and its sorrows, triumphs and defeats.

[Julianna Kincaid · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple life of hard, country work is rewarding, but our main character, the boy Wilkin, has aspirations beyond the fresh air, woods, milking cows, ghostly legends, and crops. Wilkin has a big heart, integrity, and a new friend. From this camaraderie, Wilkin learns a bit of wisdom as we humans do from interactions with others.

This story focuses on the small community, country life where everyone is on friendly terms: where your neighbors are not biological relations but an extended family nonetheless.

I've had this book sitting on my bookshelf for a long time. I'm not even sure how this title came to be in the house. All I know is none of the children took it when they moved out the last one being four years ago. I quite enjoyed this youthful story between my more adult reads.