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Steinbeck's Ghost
It's been two months since Travis's family moved to a development so new that it seems totally unreal. His parents are working harder now, to pay for it all, and Travis is left to fend for himself.There's one place, though, where Travis can still connect with his old the Salinas library. Travis and his family used to go there together every Saturday, but now he bikes to it alone, re-reading his favorite books.It's only natural that Travis likes the work of author John Steinbeck—after all, Salinas is Steinbeck's hometown. But that can't explain why Travis is suddenly seeing Steinbeck's characters spring to life. There's the homeless man in the alley behind the library, the line of figures at the top of a nearby ridge, the boy who writes by night in an attic bedroom. Travis has met them all before—as a reader. But why are they here now? And how?As Travis struggles to solve this mystery, budget cuts threaten his library. And so, he embarks on a journey through Steinbeck's beautiful California landscape, looking for a way to save his safe haven. It's only then that he begins to sort out fact from fiction, discovering the many ways a story can come alive—and stumbling into a story Steinbeck might have started, and Travis needs to complete.Here is a mystery that delves deeply into the ways that books take us, one at a time, out into the vast world.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2008
10 people are currently reading
314 people want to read
About the author
Lewis Buzbee
10 books216 followersMy new novel, Diver, will be in bookstores in March of 2025.
Lewis Buzbee is a fourth generation California native who began writing at the age of 15, after reading the first chapter of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Since then he’s been a dishwasher, a bookseller, a publisher, a caterer, a bartender, and a teacher of writing. He and his wife, the poet Julie Bruck, live with their daughter Maddy in San Francisco, just half a block from Golden Gate Park. His books for adults include The Yellow Lighted Bookshop, Blackboard, Fliegelman’s Desire, After the Gold Rush, and First to Leave Before the Sun.
His first novel for middle grade readers, Steinbeck’s Ghost, was published in 2008 by Feiwel and Friends and was selected for these honors: a Smithsonian Notable Book, a Northern California Book Award Nominee, the Northern California Independent Booksellers’ Association Children’s Book of the Year, and the California Library Association’s John and Patricia Beatty Award.
A second middle-grade novel, The Haunting of Charles Dickens, was published in 2011 and won the Northern California Book Award, was nominated for an Edgar, and was selected as a Judy Lopez Memorial Honor Book.
A third middle-grade novel, Bridge of Time, was published in May 2012--time travel, San Francisco, Mark Twain.
Lewis Buzbee is a fourth generation California native who began writing at the age of 15, after reading the first chapter of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Since then he’s been a dishwasher, a bookseller, a publisher, a caterer, a bartender, and a teacher of writing. He and his wife, the poet Julie Bruck, live with their daughter Maddy in San Francisco, just half a block from Golden Gate Park. His books for adults include The Yellow Lighted Bookshop, Blackboard, Fliegelman’s Desire, After the Gold Rush, and First to Leave Before the Sun.
His first novel for middle grade readers, Steinbeck’s Ghost, was published in 2008 by Feiwel and Friends and was selected for these honors: a Smithsonian Notable Book, a Northern California Book Award Nominee, the Northern California Independent Booksellers’ Association Children’s Book of the Year, and the California Library Association’s John and Patricia Beatty Award.
A second middle-grade novel, The Haunting of Charles Dickens, was published in 2011 and won the Northern California Book Award, was nominated for an Edgar, and was selected as a Judy Lopez Memorial Honor Book.
A third middle-grade novel, Bridge of Time, was published in May 2012--time travel, San Francisco, Mark Twain.
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June 9, 2016
This is the first time ever that I've put a book in my brain-candy AND classics section. I can't believe this is a young adult novel. What a little hidden gem I found! I've been into reading books about classical books lately...but fiction...and I found this author who writes fictional stories about the greats. This one, of course, is about Steinbeck. A boy begins seeing the ghosts of all the characters of Steinbeck's novels and follows the clues to figure out a mystery. But it's not just a mystery. Buzbee has beautiful writing. Writing that stirred my heart and made me long for more. It also gives you a real love for literature and makes you want to go out and read every single Steinbeck available. Not just that, but many other classics as well. I don't usually add an excerpt but it's just such wonderful writing for a young adult...you can really feel the character development with Travis, the boy. You see him growing up, realizing life and the world around him. You feel his eyes opening to a new reality all the while talking about things you love - books.
" But Travis didn't care what the other kids thought. He couldn't help himself. The kind of reading he was doing wasn't about escaping from the real world. His reading had unlocked a door, and was leading him into a mystery about the real world. A real mystery about the real world.
Every book, Travis knew, had a mystery at its heart. In most books, though, the mysteries were easy to solve. Who had killed the school gardener? Where was the lost crystal? These were mysteries with straight answers. Simple. Done.
Travis had read a lot of books like this. But the books he was reading now were opening up deeper mysteries. Mysteries that couldn't be soled, mysteries that didn't end, that continued long after the last page was turned.
At the end of A Wrinkle in Time, Meg and Charles Wallace found their father in another dimension and returned with him to their own. But they still didn't know what "IT" was, and knew even less about the shape of the universe, even though they'd traveled through it and arrived safely back to their own world. Meg and Charles Wallace had only one choice after their unsettling journey, a journey whose mystery seemed unfathomable; they had to leave the safty of what they knew and return to the perils of the unknown. So they did.
In Steinbeck's own books, there were mysteries that could never be solved. Who were the Watchers? Had Gitano really worked on the ranch when he was a boy, and why did he steal the horse at the end and where did he go? How did Johnny Bear and Tularecito come into their powers, and what did those powers mean? Every story in Steinbeck carried an unfathomable mystery, and Steinbeck wasn't the kind of writer who offered simple answers to difficult mysteries. Steinbeck's mysteries lingered.
The great thing about an unsolvable mystery was just that, it was unsolvable. It was as if the book never ended.
So Travis read. He took to reading at his desk at night, looking west across Salinas toward the Corral. As he read from the book, he looked up occasionally and wondered about the real world out there."
I can't begin to describe how this book makes me feel. It's as if he's put into word how I've felt about so many books. And the mystery of the ghosts, and the saving of the town library, are just pleasant additions to an already captivating novel. This is definitely a classic in my book. This can and will withstand the test of time, I just wonder how many people have heard of Buzbee. Time to get the word out.
I also love the Bibliography Buzbee puts at the end. He lists all the books he's mentioned of Steinbeck and the order in which you "should" read them. I love that Of mice and men, and The Grapes of Wrath are no where near the top. There are so many others of Steinbeck that I loved more and it seems as if Buzbee agrees that others should be read first. I can't wait to go down through this list and read the ones I haven't gotten to yet. And I'll also take Buzbee's advice and read The Red Pony first.
" But Travis didn't care what the other kids thought. He couldn't help himself. The kind of reading he was doing wasn't about escaping from the real world. His reading had unlocked a door, and was leading him into a mystery about the real world. A real mystery about the real world.
Every book, Travis knew, had a mystery at its heart. In most books, though, the mysteries were easy to solve. Who had killed the school gardener? Where was the lost crystal? These were mysteries with straight answers. Simple. Done.
Travis had read a lot of books like this. But the books he was reading now were opening up deeper mysteries. Mysteries that couldn't be soled, mysteries that didn't end, that continued long after the last page was turned.
At the end of A Wrinkle in Time, Meg and Charles Wallace found their father in another dimension and returned with him to their own. But they still didn't know what "IT" was, and knew even less about the shape of the universe, even though they'd traveled through it and arrived safely back to their own world. Meg and Charles Wallace had only one choice after their unsettling journey, a journey whose mystery seemed unfathomable; they had to leave the safty of what they knew and return to the perils of the unknown. So they did.
In Steinbeck's own books, there were mysteries that could never be solved. Who were the Watchers? Had Gitano really worked on the ranch when he was a boy, and why did he steal the horse at the end and where did he go? How did Johnny Bear and Tularecito come into their powers, and what did those powers mean? Every story in Steinbeck carried an unfathomable mystery, and Steinbeck wasn't the kind of writer who offered simple answers to difficult mysteries. Steinbeck's mysteries lingered.
The great thing about an unsolvable mystery was just that, it was unsolvable. It was as if the book never ended.
So Travis read. He took to reading at his desk at night, looking west across Salinas toward the Corral. As he read from the book, he looked up occasionally and wondered about the real world out there."
I can't begin to describe how this book makes me feel. It's as if he's put into word how I've felt about so many books. And the mystery of the ghosts, and the saving of the town library, are just pleasant additions to an already captivating novel. This is definitely a classic in my book. This can and will withstand the test of time, I just wonder how many people have heard of Buzbee. Time to get the word out.
I also love the Bibliography Buzbee puts at the end. He lists all the books he's mentioned of Steinbeck and the order in which you "should" read them. I love that Of mice and men, and The Grapes of Wrath are no where near the top. There are so many others of Steinbeck that I loved more and it seems as if Buzbee agrees that others should be read first. I can't wait to go down through this list and read the ones I haven't gotten to yet. And I'll also take Buzbee's advice and read The Red Pony first.
May 4, 2013
This was very possibly one of the best books I have ever read. I feel sort of breathless and happy inside, like I have seen a piece of gorgeous artwork and life suddenly a little bit more sense because it exists. It’s taken me a while to read through it, but that is okay. It’s the sort of book that is brilliant and doesn’t need to be read in one sitting. In fact, it would take away from the story to read it in a few hours. You have to savor it. Savor the words and how they trickle across the pages, savor the characters and the deep respect and love for books found there. Oh! Words seem inadequate to describe this book, and yet it is the words contained within that make it so amazing. For the first time in my life I have completed a book and realized, I really, really would love to meet the author. And I need to read more. And I need to buy them, because if they are even half as good as Steinbeck’s Ghost they are the sort of books you re-read over and over.
Lewis Buzbee. What a neat name.
Steinbeck’s Ghost is the story of a young boy named Travis who lives in Camazotz. Well, not really but the eerie new subdivision reminds him of that town in a A Wrinkle in Time . He likes books and finding it uncomfortable trying to settle into the new life with his sudden workaholic parents in a fancy new house on the opposite side of town. When the Steinbeck Library is scheduled to close, Travis knows he has to do something to save it. It’s not just his new world or the closing library, though. Characters from Steinbeck’s books are appearing at random times, the ghost of Steinbeck writes late into the night in Steinbeck’s house in Salinas, and suddenly Travis finds himself swept up into an even bigger mystery. What scared the famous author off from the Corral de Tierra so many years ago? Why is there no record of the town? And how are the mysterious appearances connected to the closing of the public library?
One thing I love about this book is all the references to other books in it. I just came across this fabulous “bookfession” the other day –
Can I get a content-sigh-so-true over here? I first read Of Mice and Men because of The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh. The main character in The Night Tourist counted it as one of his favorites, and so I thought it sounded good. I read Of Mice and Men and decided it was very good…but very sad. It was something great even. I didn't read anything more by him, though. The next year I had to read The Grapes of Wrath for school. And….shall we say I didn’t like it?
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
That pretty much to say, two years later, I still carry some skeptical opinions of Steinbeck. Reading this book has encouraged me to wonder what I have missed out on, though. Perhaps making a very excitable 17-year-old read The Grapes of Wrath was a very bad idea. Oh, I tried East of Eden last year and didn’t care much for it…actually, don’t think I made it through the first chapter.
Also, I carry some slightly dislike for the book A Wrinkle in Time because of a bad experience of being made to read it in 7th grade.
Pretty much, the point is, most of the authors I tend to avoid are somehow wrapped up in this novel. AndSteinbeck’s Ghost has given me a burning desire to go re-read them. More by Steinbeck. More of Madeleine L'Engle. Possibly. And as much as I can get my hands on by Lewis Buzbee. Because Steinbeck’s Ghost just….just EXPRESSES what it is like to be a bookworm. It expresses the beauty of words and life and it makes my mouth just water to go visit these places. It expresses why I read so much. Like, there is a quote I found online by Lewis Buzbee where he says “Books can give us courage to go out into the unknown; they're not merely an escape from the bigger world.” It’s simply brilliant, that is. And this whole books is full of simply brilliant quotes.
The writing! Oh, the writing of this book makes me want to drool. Do you know how pathetic that makes me feel? I read and read and read and read and this book just simply went BAM
Welcome, life, to a whole new level of meaning.
It’s just so crazy beautiful. Words link together in lovely sentences that really flow. The descriptions are amazing. The innocence of the main character, the struggles he goes through and overcomes, even the author Oster (who I suspected immediately had some connection to Lewis Buzbee…really, that name is so much fun to say)…it’s all wonderful character development. The only thing that strongly puzzled me about the plot was the ending. But it sort of makes sense too. Of course, normally characters don’t appear and disappear so a story can be told in connection to a closing library, but it doesn’t really need to be explained why or how, either. The best part of a story is in the mystery, and sometimes the mystery is best when it isn’t explained. That’s how this book is. One giant, unexplainable, glorious mystery. I have met a kindred spirit. A muse. A friend. Although I di wish there would have been some hint as to why the Corral disappeared like it did. I need to re-read it to fully grasp it all. This is some deep stuff. Some glorious stuff. And I found it in a used bookstore. How have I never heard of it before? Why hasn’t it won awards or tons of other stuff?
THIS IS GOOD PEOPLE.
Really, really good.
I want to re-read it right now. Maybe I will. I am glad I bought it. It was worth every penny. It’s innocent and full of wisdom. It is a work of art. Yet it is also close to home. This isn’t the fancy, gold wrought portrait you admire in a museum. It’s the wood-framed picture of a snug cottage that hangs in your living room. It’s comfy and close to home even if you have never been to California or really don’t like Steinbeck that much (like me..and, uh, me!). It’s the spirit of life in it.
Anyway, don’t mind me. Find it for yourself. I am going to use the rest of this deliciously rainy Saturday to curl up, turn on some Brock’s Folly, and re-read.
Good luck with finals everybody.
I think it is going to be very funny when I re-read this review in a few years and go 'oh...that book? I buried it around here somewhere.'
But seriously. Right now I just finished it and super loved it. I'm hoping it doesn't get lost in the packing
Lewis Buzbee. What a neat name.
Steinbeck’s Ghost is the story of a young boy named Travis who lives in Camazotz. Well, not really but the eerie new subdivision reminds him of that town in a A Wrinkle in Time . He likes books and finding it uncomfortable trying to settle into the new life with his sudden workaholic parents in a fancy new house on the opposite side of town. When the Steinbeck Library is scheduled to close, Travis knows he has to do something to save it. It’s not just his new world or the closing library, though. Characters from Steinbeck’s books are appearing at random times, the ghost of Steinbeck writes late into the night in Steinbeck’s house in Salinas, and suddenly Travis finds himself swept up into an even bigger mystery. What scared the famous author off from the Corral de Tierra so many years ago? Why is there no record of the town? And how are the mysterious appearances connected to the closing of the public library?
One thing I love about this book is all the references to other books in it. I just came across this fabulous “bookfession” the other day –
Can I get a content-sigh-so-true over here? I first read Of Mice and Men because of The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh. The main character in The Night Tourist counted it as one of his favorites, and so I thought it sounded good. I read Of Mice and Men and decided it was very good…but very sad. It was something great even. I didn't read anything more by him, though. The next year I had to read The Grapes of Wrath for school. And….shall we say I didn’t like it?
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
That pretty much to say, two years later, I still carry some skeptical opinions of Steinbeck. Reading this book has encouraged me to wonder what I have missed out on, though. Perhaps making a very excitable 17-year-old read The Grapes of Wrath was a very bad idea. Oh, I tried East of Eden last year and didn’t care much for it…actually, don’t think I made it through the first chapter.
Also, I carry some slightly dislike for the book A Wrinkle in Time because of a bad experience of being made to read it in 7th grade.
Pretty much, the point is, most of the authors I tend to avoid are somehow wrapped up in this novel. AndSteinbeck’s Ghost has given me a burning desire to go re-read them. More by Steinbeck. More of Madeleine L'Engle. Possibly. And as much as I can get my hands on by Lewis Buzbee. Because Steinbeck’s Ghost just….just EXPRESSES what it is like to be a bookworm. It expresses the beauty of words and life and it makes my mouth just water to go visit these places. It expresses why I read so much. Like, there is a quote I found online by Lewis Buzbee where he says “Books can give us courage to go out into the unknown; they're not merely an escape from the bigger world.” It’s simply brilliant, that is. And this whole books is full of simply brilliant quotes.
The writing! Oh, the writing of this book makes me want to drool. Do you know how pathetic that makes me feel? I read and read and read and read and this book just simply went BAM
Welcome, life, to a whole new level of meaning.
It’s just so crazy beautiful. Words link together in lovely sentences that really flow. The descriptions are amazing. The innocence of the main character, the struggles he goes through and overcomes, even the author Oster (who I suspected immediately had some connection to Lewis Buzbee…really, that name is so much fun to say)…it’s all wonderful character development. The only thing that strongly puzzled me about the plot was the ending. But it sort of makes sense too. Of course, normally characters don’t appear and disappear so a story can be told in connection to a closing library, but it doesn’t really need to be explained why or how, either. The best part of a story is in the mystery, and sometimes the mystery is best when it isn’t explained. That’s how this book is. One giant, unexplainable, glorious mystery. I have met a kindred spirit. A muse. A friend. Although I di wish there would have been some hint as to why the Corral disappeared like it did. I need to re-read it to fully grasp it all. This is some deep stuff. Some glorious stuff. And I found it in a used bookstore. How have I never heard of it before? Why hasn’t it won awards or tons of other stuff?
THIS IS GOOD PEOPLE.
Really, really good.
I want to re-read it right now. Maybe I will. I am glad I bought it. It was worth every penny. It’s innocent and full of wisdom. It is a work of art. Yet it is also close to home. This isn’t the fancy, gold wrought portrait you admire in a museum. It’s the wood-framed picture of a snug cottage that hangs in your living room. It’s comfy and close to home even if you have never been to California or really don’t like Steinbeck that much (like me..and, uh, me!). It’s the spirit of life in it.
Anyway, don’t mind me. Find it for yourself. I am going to use the rest of this deliciously rainy Saturday to curl up, turn on some Brock’s Folly, and re-read.
Good luck with finals everybody.
I think it is going to be very funny when I re-read this review in a few years and go 'oh...that book? I buried it around here somewhere.'
But seriously. Right now I just finished it and super loved it. I'm hoping it doesn't get lost in the packing
August 9, 2008
Buzbee, Lewis. 2008. Steinbeck's Ghost. (September 2008 release).
"Finally. He finally found the word he had been looking for.
Camazotz.
The moment Travis Williams stepped out of his house into the warm September afternoon, the word came to him. For months, ever since he and his parents had moved into the new house, he'd been trying to figure out what was so creepy about this place. Now he knew.
He stepped off the porch into the bright sunshine and whispered the word.
Camazotz.
A Wrinkle in Time was one of Travis's favorite books. He'd first borrowed it from the library a couple of years ago, when he was eleven, and had probably borrowed it three times since, read it he didn't know how many times. Whenever he thought of the book, he pictured the planet Camazotz.
On Camazotz, everything was perfect. Every house was exactly like every other house, every lawn like all the rest. Every garden grew the same kind of flower, and the exact same number of those flowers. Everyone in Camazotz dressed like everyone else, and they all did the same things and at the same times. One child played ball in front of each house, and each ball bounced to the same beat.
Camazotz was supposed to be a perfect planet. And in a way, Travis thought, it was perfect. Perfectly creepy.
Bella Linda Terrace was supposed to be perfect, too." (1-2)
For anyone who loves to read books about people who love books, Steinbeck's Ghost is the novel for you. Travis Williams loves to read, and he loves his library. When he hears the news that his library, the John Steinbeck library, is closing, he's shocked and disappointed and angry. Luckily, this news effects many people the exact same way. And fortunately, these people--from the elderly to the teens--is willing to put their time, money, and energy into saving it. Set in California, set in Salinas, our narrator, Travis, is fascinated with John Steinbeck. Loves his work. Got a few favorites among his novels, but has a familiarity with the world Steinbeck created. When this fictional world starts coming to life right before his eyes, Travis is both amazed and hesitant. Is he going crazy? Did he saw what he thought he saw? Can other people see these things as well? Travis isn't going crazy--at least we're led to believe that he's not going crazy--and soon Travis and a few select friends are following the trail, following the voices, the messages, that are leading them to discover the story that Steinbeck never wrote. Books. Libraries. Community activism. Friendship. Family. This one has a little bit of everything.
"Every book he recognized opened up the world of that book to him. These weren't stacks of paper bound together with glue or string--they weren't items or products. Every book was an entire universe." (26)
"Reading a library book wasn't something you did on your own. It was something you shared with everyone who had ever read that book. You read the book in private, yes, but other hands had been on it, had softened its pages and loosened its spine. With hardcovers, the clear shiny Bro-Dart, put on to protect the dust jacket, quickly got scuffed and crinkly, and sometimes you'd find a thumbprint pressed into the plastic.
The book, when you were done with it, went back to the library, and from there to other hands. When you read a library book, you were connected to all these strangers." (56)
"When you read, the world really did change. He understood this now. You saw parts of the world you never knew existed. Books were in the world; the world was in books." (89)
Yes, the book has its strange moments. Moments when he's being "haunted" (or prompted) by Steinbeck's fictional characters. But the book is just as much about Travis discovering himself as it is about him discovering the world of books and also discovering the world around him. There is a certain authenticity captured in the pages of this book.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
"Finally. He finally found the word he had been looking for.
Camazotz.
The moment Travis Williams stepped out of his house into the warm September afternoon, the word came to him. For months, ever since he and his parents had moved into the new house, he'd been trying to figure out what was so creepy about this place. Now he knew.
He stepped off the porch into the bright sunshine and whispered the word.
Camazotz.
A Wrinkle in Time was one of Travis's favorite books. He'd first borrowed it from the library a couple of years ago, when he was eleven, and had probably borrowed it three times since, read it he didn't know how many times. Whenever he thought of the book, he pictured the planet Camazotz.
On Camazotz, everything was perfect. Every house was exactly like every other house, every lawn like all the rest. Every garden grew the same kind of flower, and the exact same number of those flowers. Everyone in Camazotz dressed like everyone else, and they all did the same things and at the same times. One child played ball in front of each house, and each ball bounced to the same beat.
Camazotz was supposed to be a perfect planet. And in a way, Travis thought, it was perfect. Perfectly creepy.
Bella Linda Terrace was supposed to be perfect, too." (1-2)
For anyone who loves to read books about people who love books, Steinbeck's Ghost is the novel for you. Travis Williams loves to read, and he loves his library. When he hears the news that his library, the John Steinbeck library, is closing, he's shocked and disappointed and angry. Luckily, this news effects many people the exact same way. And fortunately, these people--from the elderly to the teens--is willing to put their time, money, and energy into saving it. Set in California, set in Salinas, our narrator, Travis, is fascinated with John Steinbeck. Loves his work. Got a few favorites among his novels, but has a familiarity with the world Steinbeck created. When this fictional world starts coming to life right before his eyes, Travis is both amazed and hesitant. Is he going crazy? Did he saw what he thought he saw? Can other people see these things as well? Travis isn't going crazy--at least we're led to believe that he's not going crazy--and soon Travis and a few select friends are following the trail, following the voices, the messages, that are leading them to discover the story that Steinbeck never wrote. Books. Libraries. Community activism. Friendship. Family. This one has a little bit of everything.
"Every book he recognized opened up the world of that book to him. These weren't stacks of paper bound together with glue or string--they weren't items or products. Every book was an entire universe." (26)
"Reading a library book wasn't something you did on your own. It was something you shared with everyone who had ever read that book. You read the book in private, yes, but other hands had been on it, had softened its pages and loosened its spine. With hardcovers, the clear shiny Bro-Dart, put on to protect the dust jacket, quickly got scuffed and crinkly, and sometimes you'd find a thumbprint pressed into the plastic.
The book, when you were done with it, went back to the library, and from there to other hands. When you read a library book, you were connected to all these strangers." (56)
"When you read, the world really did change. He understood this now. You saw parts of the world you never knew existed. Books were in the world; the world was in books." (89)
Yes, the book has its strange moments. Moments when he's being "haunted" (or prompted) by Steinbeck's fictional characters. But the book is just as much about Travis discovering himself as it is about him discovering the world of books and also discovering the world around him. There is a certain authenticity captured in the pages of this book.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
April 26, 2017
This book was a sheer delight to read. First of all, Lewis Buzbee has such a way with words! The story is about a boy living in Salinas, California, birthplace of author John Steinbeck, who becomes involved in both a campaign to save the library, which the city wants to shut down due to lack of funds, and a mystery surrounding Steinbeck himself. Buzbee includes some wonderful ideas about libraries and books, some of which had never occurred to me in all my 40 years as a librarian.
"This was something about library books that Travis loved, evidence of the other people who had read the same book. Dog-eared pages, old bookmarks, slips of torn paper, a stripe of colored marker on a page, coffee and food stains, every once in a while a booger. Sometimes people wrote notes in the margins, usually in pencil/ one of his favorites he'd found in a bad science-fiction novel: OH PUH-LEEZE! Travis couldn't have agreed more; that part of the book was really boring.
Reading a library book wasn't something you did on your own. It was something you shared with everyone who had ever read that book. You read the book in private, yes, but other hands had been on it, had softened its pages and loosened its spine. With hardcovers, the clear shiny Bro-Dart, put on to protect the dust jacket, quickly got scuffed and crinkly, and sometimes you would find a thumbprint pressed into the plastic.
The book, when you were done with it, went back to the library, and from there to other hands. When you read a library book, you were connected to all these strangers." (p.55-56)
"When you read, the world really did change. He understood this now. You saw parts of the world you never knew existed. Books were in the world; the world was in books." (p.89)
The writing in parts of the book almost seemed like prose poetry.
The other thing I really liked about the book was the enthusiasm for Steinbeck that you can't help but share with Travis, Hil, Miss Babb, and Ernest Oster. Made me want to run out and grab The Pearl or The Red Pony or The Grapes of Wrath and start reading.
It was a terrific story of the far-reaching effects that places can have upon writers and that books can have upon people. This book should have been a Newbery winner for 2009!! Highly recommended!
"This was something about library books that Travis loved, evidence of the other people who had read the same book. Dog-eared pages, old bookmarks, slips of torn paper, a stripe of colored marker on a page, coffee and food stains, every once in a while a booger. Sometimes people wrote notes in the margins, usually in pencil/ one of his favorites he'd found in a bad science-fiction novel: OH PUH-LEEZE! Travis couldn't have agreed more; that part of the book was really boring.
Reading a library book wasn't something you did on your own. It was something you shared with everyone who had ever read that book. You read the book in private, yes, but other hands had been on it, had softened its pages and loosened its spine. With hardcovers, the clear shiny Bro-Dart, put on to protect the dust jacket, quickly got scuffed and crinkly, and sometimes you would find a thumbprint pressed into the plastic.
The book, when you were done with it, went back to the library, and from there to other hands. When you read a library book, you were connected to all these strangers." (p.55-56)
"When you read, the world really did change. He understood this now. You saw parts of the world you never knew existed. Books were in the world; the world was in books." (p.89)
The writing in parts of the book almost seemed like prose poetry.
The other thing I really liked about the book was the enthusiasm for Steinbeck that you can't help but share with Travis, Hil, Miss Babb, and Ernest Oster. Made me want to run out and grab The Pearl or The Red Pony or The Grapes of Wrath and start reading.
It was a terrific story of the far-reaching effects that places can have upon writers and that books can have upon people. This book should have been a Newbery winner for 2009!! Highly recommended!
July 27, 2010
This book contains the perfect amount of creepiness - tons of mystery, nice tension build - it is a fine ghost story. It's been a while since I've read any Steinbeck, but that didn't hinder my enjoyment of the tale, and in fact made me want to revisit a lot of it. Travis is a super-likable kid - he's the kid next door on a mission. If you're looking for a ghost story, give this one a spin.
July 23, 2013
This hard-to-classify story manages to convey all of the reasons why reading is so incredibly necessary to me, along with stuff like, you know, eating & breathing. I wish I could travel back in time to when I was in about fifth grade & give it to myself, because I would've been completely inspired by it - & the thing is, I don't know any kids similar enough to myself as I was then to give it to now: it's only going to resonate with a very specific type of juvenile reader. It's a middle-grade story that's essentially a love letter to John Steinbeck, for crying out loud. Most high schoolers I know moan about his stupid, boring books - the middle school kid who really enjoy his works is a bit of a rare bird. I read "The Grapes of Wrath" for the first time in the sixth grade (a high-school-aged babysitter left her copy at our house, so I picked it up as I'd just finished my own book), & it stayed with me way more than anything else I read that year.
Middle schooler Travis has lived his whole life in Salinas, California, the hometown of famed author John Steinbeck, & he's always been happy there...until lately. His parents both graduated from college & got better jobs, & now they've moved to a brand-new (much bigger, nicer) house in a brand-new neighborhood. There's a pool, he's made a great new friend in a kid his age named Hilario, his family's much better off financially - so why does he miss his old life so much & feel like he's on another planet? The only place he feels truly connected to how things used to be is the public library, where his favorite librarian always has something new & wonderful to read. But then he hears that funding shortages may cause the library to have to close, & then he starts seeing what he could swear are characters from several of Steinbeck's stories...
A little bit personal growth, a little bit ghost story, & a lot about the myriad joys reading a good story can bring. I picked this up on a whim (at my local branch library) because of the title, & now I'm planning to read all of the author's other works.
Middle schooler Travis has lived his whole life in Salinas, California, the hometown of famed author John Steinbeck, & he's always been happy there...until lately. His parents both graduated from college & got better jobs, & now they've moved to a brand-new (much bigger, nicer) house in a brand-new neighborhood. There's a pool, he's made a great new friend in a kid his age named Hilario, his family's much better off financially - so why does he miss his old life so much & feel like he's on another planet? The only place he feels truly connected to how things used to be is the public library, where his favorite librarian always has something new & wonderful to read. But then he hears that funding shortages may cause the library to have to close, & then he starts seeing what he could swear are characters from several of Steinbeck's stories...
A little bit personal growth, a little bit ghost story, & a lot about the myriad joys reading a good story can bring. I picked this up on a whim (at my local branch library) because of the title, & now I'm planning to read all of the author's other works.
December 8, 2008
Every so often, a book comes along that is destined to become a classic. Steinbeck’s Ghost, by Lewis Buzbee, is one of those.
Geared for younger teen readers, Steinbeck’s Ghost is a fascinating tale for adults, too. The book tells the story of Travis Williams, who loves Steinbeck’s stories and lives in the author’s hometown of Salinas.
When Travis sees Steinbeck himself in the attic window of his old Victorian home, writing at his desk, then encounters other characters from Steinbeck’s stories, he realizes that the author still has one more story to tell and that Steinbeck needs Travis’s help to complete it.
Wrapped around the subplot of Travis’s efforts to help save Salinas’s Steinbeck Library, which is threatened by budget cuts, the story expertly weaves reality and fantasy to the point that readers believe all of it is reality.
Buzbee does not write down to his audience. He delves into the intracacies of Steinbeck’s works, educating his readers. If his goal was to turn them, young or old, into Steinbeck fans, he has accomplished that. He makes them want to pour over Steinbeck’s every word, to create a visual memory of each place Steinbeck described, to visit the Steinbeck house, to retrace the author’s life in Salinas, to live in his world.
Buzbee makes readers believe that they, too, might see the author sitting at his desk by the attic window of his home, spot the Watchers on the ridges of the Santa Lucias above Corral de Tierra, look for the town in the Corral that no one wants to admit ever existed, meet Gitano walking through the streets of Salinas. The book could have been edited to delete repeated words, but that doesn’t detract from making it a page turner for readers of any age.
Geared for younger teen readers, Steinbeck’s Ghost is a fascinating tale for adults, too. The book tells the story of Travis Williams, who loves Steinbeck’s stories and lives in the author’s hometown of Salinas.
When Travis sees Steinbeck himself in the attic window of his old Victorian home, writing at his desk, then encounters other characters from Steinbeck’s stories, he realizes that the author still has one more story to tell and that Steinbeck needs Travis’s help to complete it.
Wrapped around the subplot of Travis’s efforts to help save Salinas’s Steinbeck Library, which is threatened by budget cuts, the story expertly weaves reality and fantasy to the point that readers believe all of it is reality.
Buzbee does not write down to his audience. He delves into the intracacies of Steinbeck’s works, educating his readers. If his goal was to turn them, young or old, into Steinbeck fans, he has accomplished that. He makes them want to pour over Steinbeck’s every word, to create a visual memory of each place Steinbeck described, to visit the Steinbeck house, to retrace the author’s life in Salinas, to live in his world.
Buzbee makes readers believe that they, too, might see the author sitting at his desk by the attic window of his home, spot the Watchers on the ridges of the Santa Lucias above Corral de Tierra, look for the town in the Corral that no one wants to admit ever existed, meet Gitano walking through the streets of Salinas. The book could have been edited to delete repeated words, but that doesn’t detract from making it a page turner for readers of any age.
February 19, 2009
Thirteen year old Travis hates the pointless consumerism of his parents lives. They work all the time so they can afford their new cookie cutter house in their new cookie cutter neighborhood, when they were perfectly happy with the "authentic" life they had back when they were poor and happy.
Travis spends a lot of time hanging out at the public library, reading John Steinbeck, because that's what thirteen year old boys do. Travis really, really loves Steinbeck's writing. Other things that Travis *loves* include books, words, the library, books, sushi, words, books, rain, and his best friend Hil.
The reason I know Travis *loves* all these things is because the author says Travis loves them. Repeatedly. Every other page, practically. If Travis isn't loving the way words sound, he's loving the way they look on the page, or he's loving the way they all come together to form a sentence. Myself, I'm loving the way all the book pages come together to form a hard object to bash against my head. Please, make it stop.
This is apparently written for anyone who hates Starbucks for ruining the character of their neighborhood, or when anyone says the word "Kindle", spends forty five minutes waxing rhapsodical about how much they love the smell and feel and taste of real, live, actual books and nothing, *nothing*, could ever replace that.
The only reason I kept reading was because it was on the KCLS booktalk blog, and I figured it had to get better. It didn't. And then I just finished it out of spite.
Finishing things out of spite is never a good idea. It just makes you prone to exaggerated cynicism. Just put the book down and walk away.
Travis spends a lot of time hanging out at the public library, reading John Steinbeck, because that's what thirteen year old boys do. Travis really, really loves Steinbeck's writing. Other things that Travis *loves* include books, words, the library, books, sushi, words, books, rain, and his best friend Hil.
The reason I know Travis *loves* all these things is because the author says Travis loves them. Repeatedly. Every other page, practically. If Travis isn't loving the way words sound, he's loving the way they look on the page, or he's loving the way they all come together to form a sentence. Myself, I'm loving the way all the book pages come together to form a hard object to bash against my head. Please, make it stop.
This is apparently written for anyone who hates Starbucks for ruining the character of their neighborhood, or when anyone says the word "Kindle", spends forty five minutes waxing rhapsodical about how much they love the smell and feel and taste of real, live, actual books and nothing, *nothing*, could ever replace that.
The only reason I kept reading was because it was on the KCLS booktalk blog, and I figured it had to get better. It didn't. And then I just finished it out of spite.
Finishing things out of spite is never a good idea. It just makes you prone to exaggerated cynicism. Just put the book down and walk away.
January 10, 2010
I did not realize when I ordered this book that it was a "kid's" book. I'm glad I didn't know because it is really an entertaining book and kept my interest throughout. There are several things going on in this book. Travis (the main character) is a 13 year old boy. His family has just moved to a new part of town because both his mother and father have new (better) jobs. So Travis doesn't have any friends and now his mom and dad are working late every day and often on the weekends to pay for the new house so he doesn't see much of them either. Travis has always been a reader so even though he isn't supposed to go across town he goes to the library and finds out that because of budget cuts it is soon to be closed. He jumps right in on the campaign to save the library (which is named after John Steinbeck). In the meantime strange things start to happen, characters from Steinbeck's books start appearing to Travis including Steinbeck's ghost. I won't go further into the story but Buzbee ties everything together quite nicely and it makes for a very interesting read. Also, if you weren't a Steinbeck fan before (I wasn't) you will want to read his books by the time you are finished with this book (I do). I also intend to read more of
I would highly recommend this book not only for your kids/grandkids but I would encourage you to read it yourself.Lewis Buzbee's books.
I would highly recommend this book not only for your kids/grandkids but I would encourage you to read it yourself.Lewis Buzbee's books.
January 15, 2012
Can the unfinished business a famous writer takes to his grave bring his fictional characters to life? This is the case in Steinbeck's Ghost, a mystery that unravels bit by bit as characters from John Steinbeck's stories leave a trail of clues for 13-year-old Travis Williams to solve.
In Steinbeck's Ghost, author Lewis Buzbee captures that feel of how an author can send you to another world. It doesn't take long for a reader to share Travis's concerns: a move to a new subdivision, upwardly mobile parents who are devoured by their new jobs, his own nostalgia for his old neighborhood. Soon Travis is confronted with a cluster of mysteries: Why does he see the ghost of young Steinbeck in an attic window? Who is the homeless man in the alley near the library? Why do The Watchers keep appearing on the hills behind Travis's subdivision? What do they want from him?
A subplot involving budget cuts that threaten to close the library reminds a reader of the special door to other worlds only a library can offer. Eventually Steinbeck’s Ghost is a cluster of journeys: a journey through Steinbeck's California (Salinas, Monterrey, The Gabilan and Santa Lucia Mountains); a journey through books and the continuing enjoyment they provide; and Travis's journey as he resolves his own family concerns while resolving a troubled ghost’s regrets.
In Steinbeck's Ghost, author Lewis Buzbee captures that feel of how an author can send you to another world. It doesn't take long for a reader to share Travis's concerns: a move to a new subdivision, upwardly mobile parents who are devoured by their new jobs, his own nostalgia for his old neighborhood. Soon Travis is confronted with a cluster of mysteries: Why does he see the ghost of young Steinbeck in an attic window? Who is the homeless man in the alley near the library? Why do The Watchers keep appearing on the hills behind Travis's subdivision? What do they want from him?
A subplot involving budget cuts that threaten to close the library reminds a reader of the special door to other worlds only a library can offer. Eventually Steinbeck’s Ghost is a cluster of journeys: a journey through Steinbeck's California (Salinas, Monterrey, The Gabilan and Santa Lucia Mountains); a journey through books and the continuing enjoyment they provide; and Travis's journey as he resolves his own family concerns while resolving a troubled ghost’s regrets.
September 25, 2013
The story within Steinbeck’s Ghost is truly unique. Author Lewis Buzbee tells about a boy, Travis, whose life is turned upside-down when he moves to a new place. He is not adjusting well to his new environment. He find comfort in the library, a place he has always loved. He soon discovers that the library may be closing down due to budget and joins the committee to save it. A mystery quickly reveals itself that Travis and his friends try to solve.
Besides its very unique storyline, the greatest quality of this book is that it encourages young kids to read books. Steinbeck’s novels and its characters are mentioned but it does not require readers to know them beforehand to get a grasp of the plot. Lewis does a great job of describing the mentioned books and will leave readers feeling the need to read them. His writing style and approach of childhood is truly magnificent. Although it is intended for middle graders, young adults and adults will find it appealing. The author’s love for books is apparent as he writes an epic adventure that interlaces many references to Steinbeck’s work and beloved California locations. Lewis is a master at story-telling and Steinbeck’s Ghost just proves that he’s equipped with spectacular writing craftsmanship due to his love of reading.
Besides its very unique storyline, the greatest quality of this book is that it encourages young kids to read books. Steinbeck’s novels and its characters are mentioned but it does not require readers to know them beforehand to get a grasp of the plot. Lewis does a great job of describing the mentioned books and will leave readers feeling the need to read them. His writing style and approach of childhood is truly magnificent. Although it is intended for middle graders, young adults and adults will find it appealing. The author’s love for books is apparent as he writes an epic adventure that interlaces many references to Steinbeck’s work and beloved California locations. Lewis is a master at story-telling and Steinbeck’s Ghost just proves that he’s equipped with spectacular writing craftsmanship due to his love of reading.
July 17, 2013
Travis hated that once his family finished their college education the family moved to a new section of town which had no personality of it's own. He hated that his parents were never around and didn't have time to do things with him. Travis fell back on his town library which he loved and the books by John Steinbeck. The library was even named after Steinbeck. It didn't take long before he found that the library would have to close because of lack of city funding. Along with the librarian and a committee they set out to rescue the library. As Travis became more and more intrigued by Steinbeck's books and the mysteries he left where he had some of the same characters and same locations in more than one book. Upon seeing a ghost of the young Steinbeck in his old family home, Travis felt a pull that something needed to be done. Along with the help of an author, his new friend Hilario, Travis sets out to solve some of the mysteries and in the process find himself and a possible future for the library. Interesting book that makes me want to go back and read Steinbeck again. I fell that you need to have Steinbeck on your shelves because the students who read and get this book will come looking for them.
April 25, 2018
Travis and his family have just moved from their quirky home in downtown Salinas to a brand new development in the suburbs. His parents have taken jobs in the tech sector in order to pay for their new lifestyle and Travis feels like he hardly ever sees them. He misses the fun times that they had together, including weekly trips to the library and picnics on the lawn. Travis realizes that his new neighborhood reminds him of Camazotz in the Wrinkle in Time book and commiserates with his one new friend in the neighborhood. On a solo trip to the library, he finds out from his favorite librarian that the library is scheduled for closure due to budget cuts. Travis joins the fight to raise funds from the library and one of his ideas is to get local authors to come to an event in support of the library. This leads him to track down the reclusive author of his favorite book about the Salinas area. Along the way, he finds an inexplicable presence of Steinbeck, through visions or ghosts that hearken back to his books or the man himself. This book is a tribute to both John Steinbeck and “A Wrinkle in Time” and very well done. It is also about becoming responsible and looking outside of yourself. It includes a suggested reading list at the end.
October 17, 2009
I happened to find this book on a special display at my local library and, since I love Steinbeck, thought I would give it a try. This is a young adult mystery novel about Travis, a teenaged boy, who lives in Salinas, CA which is John Steinbeck's hometown. Travis and his family moved to a new development but he misses his old neighborhood, especially the library. However, the library is slated to close due to budget cuts. Travis becomes active in helping to save the library and, in doing so, rediscovers Steinbeck's stories and ties to Salinas. Steinbeck and some of his characters mysteriously start coming to life for Travis and he sets out to solve the mystery.
The novel had interesting information about Steinbeck, Salinas and some of his stories, some of which I have not read yet. It was also refreshing to have a main character who is a teenage boy that openly loves reading and his local library.
Favorite quotes:
"Reading a library book wasn't something you did on your own. It was something you shared with everyone who had ever read that book."
"When you read a library book, you were connected to all these strangers."
The novel had interesting information about Steinbeck, Salinas and some of his stories, some of which I have not read yet. It was also refreshing to have a main character who is a teenage boy that openly loves reading and his local library.
Favorite quotes:
"Reading a library book wasn't something you did on your own. It was something you shared with everyone who had ever read that book."
"When you read a library book, you were connected to all these strangers."
October 9, 2008
There was nothing about this book I did not like. It's a book encouraging young kids to read books. And unlike some books that mention other books, this one does not leave you feeling left out if you have not read the books mentioned. It describes the books, the feel of them and the basics of the story. It made me want to read the books mentioned.
The story of the book is done differently then I have read before - characters from Steinbeck's novels really do feel as if they come to life in it, I could believe they're real. The book isn't scary, maybe a little creepy, but it's really about the love of books and the stories they tell. I still have lines from the book stuck in my head and pictures of how the town Travis looked like the world in A Wrinkle in Time. This was a book that I would read again and again just for the feeling it gives me about reading.
The story of the book is done differently then I have read before - characters from Steinbeck's novels really do feel as if they come to life in it, I could believe they're real. The book isn't scary, maybe a little creepy, but it's really about the love of books and the stories they tell. I still have lines from the book stuck in my head and pictures of how the town Travis looked like the world in A Wrinkle in Time. This was a book that I would read again and again just for the feeling it gives me about reading.
April 12, 2009
Really enjoyed this story once I got to sit down with it. Modern Salinas, childhood home of John Steinbeck, is having its library (named for Steinbeck) closed due to economic conditions (eerily close to all the library closures currently happening). An 8th grade boy, Travis, gets involved with the community's efforts to stop the closure. Meanwhile, he begins to see some unusual things: what appears to be characters from some of Steinbeck's stories come to life, as well as what he suspects to be the ghost of Steinbeck himself. When he meets another local author (and lifelong fan of Steinbeck), they explore and re-visit the landscape of some of his stories with a mysterious past, with intriguing results. Great for 5th for 8th graders, and lovers of books, libraries, and/or John Steinbeck.
June 29, 2009
Wonderful book that is inspiring me to read John Steinbeck's books. This is about a middle-school boy who enjoys reading, enjoys mysteries and finds one in Salinas (his town and JS's town) where characters he has read about show up around town. It is very well-written, I love the varying characters and the family-unity theme, as well as the idea that writers are born to write and most of us are privileged through them to see the world in a new way, to open up new vistas, to be changed and enlarged by books. This is a terrific book I pulled out of the Juvenile Section of our library, on CD, and the reader of the book has excellent voices that bring the characters to life. I'm almost done and have completely enjoyed listening to it.
June 14, 2011
I am not a big Steinbeck fan, and therefore I am not familiar with a lot of the characters in this book. It wasn't the most fabulous story, I could put it down, and sometimes even had to make myself keep reading. But by the end, I loved this book.
Since it wasn't my attachment to Steinbeck himself, and it wasn't the story per se, why did I enjoy it so much? First of all was the writing, Buzbee has a way with words and sentences that makes me smile. I loved how Travis was always thinking: "if this were a book...", how he thinks of of the car being splashed with sunlight, how the books were so real in the mind of a thirteen year old boy. And how the young, the old, and those that didn't fall into either category came together as peers to save something important.
Since it wasn't my attachment to Steinbeck himself, and it wasn't the story per se, why did I enjoy it so much? First of all was the writing, Buzbee has a way with words and sentences that makes me smile. I loved how Travis was always thinking: "if this were a book...", how he thinks of of the car being splashed with sunlight, how the books were so real in the mind of a thirteen year old boy. And how the young, the old, and those that didn't fall into either category came together as peers to save something important.
October 6, 2014
This book was a fun read. I got it a while ago, so not necessarily at my reading level right now, but I really liked it. It was interesting how well the author blended elements of work by John Steinbeck and other authors while creating a casually realistic situation that incorporated supernatural components, adding some mystery to the book. The power of reading and books was well stressed throughout the novel, which was relatable. The basic factors of the plot were extremely true-to-life, which made the scenario very relatable for the targeted audience. As long as you stick with it, this book is definitely a worthwhile read.
September 8, 2012
I loved the book but wonder if students will have the connection an older reader will have. I love the link to real events and to Steinbeck. A wonderful idea for a book. I just think the readers who would enjoy the story are younger - early middle school - will it mean much to them? Do they understand who Steinbeck is and why this might be important? LIke I said as an older reader I loved the book, would love to teach it in a class but think students in late elementary, early middle school won't connect. If you are a teacher and you find I am wrong let me know!
January 3, 2015
This was almost a really good book. I say almost because it's really two books in one: one book is about the closing of the Salinas Library (a real event, one I read countless blog entries about), while the other is about Travis, a reader totally entranced with reading and in particular with Steinbeck. I'm not sure if the former was a vehicle for the latter, or vice-versa, but the meshing of the two is sometimes clumsy.
January 10, 2011
I did enjoy this, having picked it up from the Cummings Park Library 'new children's fiction' shelves. It has huge heart and Lewis Buzbee pulls off the supernatural element and convinces his readers (or at least this one) that a writer's words can create a world. It's not a book for the quest / spy / fantasy reader, but more for one who loves books and can relate to an obsession with them.
June 8, 2011
Have you ever pick up a book and just knew you had to read it. That is the way it was with this one. I needed a book to read and went to the library, this book found its way into my hands. I am glad it did. Now I will read all of John Steinbecks books because of this one. I will also read all of the others books that was introduced to me. Looking forward to more good reads. Gosh, I love libraries. I don't know what I would do without them.
May 2, 2012
This is a satisfying read for Steinbeck and public library fans. Travis is intrigued by mysterious sightings in his new neighbourhood. They turn out to be characters from Steinbeck novels come to life!
I'm glad that young readers will become familiar with Steinbeck's cannon through this novel. It illustrates how one of America's most well-respected authors used writing to record the plight of migrant workers in Salinas, CA.
I'm glad that young readers will become familiar with Steinbeck's cannon through this novel. It illustrates how one of America's most well-respected authors used writing to record the plight of migrant workers in Salinas, CA.
March 2, 2014
I really enjoyed this story, and I think Steinbeck fans would appreciate it even more. The Salinas library is about to be closed due to budget cuts. Travis works with his favorite librarian...and a crew of others to save the library. He develops some close friendships as he works to save the library. And some strange things start happening...characters from Steinbeck's books are coming to life and appearing around town. A fun and engaging story. And there is some beautiful language.
May 27, 2009
This is a bit mystical, and it really made me want to go read some more Steinbeck. I really enjoyed the character of Travis, who likes to read, gets involved with civic action, and shares his thoughts with the close people in his life. This was a good read, and it did not feel like a Young Adult book.
November 10, 2018
What a find! I was thrilled to read this book which talks so much about Salinas, Monterey, Steinbeck, real people, real places with a mystique of magic. Buzbee takes local (to me) lore and adds his own twist on it. I don't think I will ever forget the image of STeinbeck's ghost in the attic of his home writing.
January 6, 2009
Fun book. It helps if one is familiar with Steinbeck's "The Long Valley" but it is not necessary. 13 yr old boy whose library is facing closing. The 'John Steinbeck Library' in Salinas. Is that the writer in the attic window?
March 1, 2010
It's unfortunate that this book has such a lousy cover, because it's a really great book, and people really do judge books by their covers. I do, anyway. I disregarded it three times before finally deciding to give it a chance. Give it a chance, and you won't be disappointed.
February 26, 2015
This book contains a spoiler to the movie The Sixth Sense which greatly disappointed by son who had never seen the movie and spoilers of sorts to some classic books. That is the only criticism. The book is better if you have already read A Wrinkle in Time.
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