Product Description

Harold Kline is an albino—an outcast. Folks stare and taunt, calling him Ghost Boy. It’s been that way for all of his 14 years. So when the circus comes to town, Harold runs off to join it.

Full of colorful performers, the circus seems like the answer to Harold’s loneliness. He’s eager to meet the Cannibal King, a sideshow attraction who’s an albino, too. He’s touched that Princess Minikin and the Fossil Man, two other sideshow curiosities, embrace him like a son. He’s in love with Flip, the pretty and beguiling horse trainer, and awed by the all-knowing Gypsy Magda. Most of all, Harold is proud of training the elephants, and of earning respect and a sense of normalcy. Even at the circus, though, two groups exist—the freaks, and everyone else. Harold straddles both groups. But fitting in comes at a price, and Harold must recognize the truth beneath what seems apparent before he can find a place to call home.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #377773 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-12
• Released on: 2002-03-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 352 pages

Amazon.com Review
Fourteen-year-old Harold Kline is an albino--white from head to toe, even his hair and his eyes that are like drops of water. His life is made unbearable by the other kids, who call him "snow" or "maggot," and ever since his father died and his brother was reported missing in Vietnam, his mother has become angry and withdrawn. And so Harold runs away, although it is a wrench to leave Honey, the elderly dog who has been his only comfort. And where would an albino kid on the run end up? In the circus, of course--in this case a down-at-the-heels road show where he is sheltered by a kindly lady midget and her huge man-beast companion and given hugs and unquestioning acceptance by the other "freaks." There he falls in love with the beautiful but duplicitous trick horseback rider and gains self-respect and the admiration of the other circus folks when he accomplishes the seemingly impossible feat of teaching the elephants to play baseball. But Gypsy Magda forecasts a "great harm" lurking in the future, and it has something to do with Harold's rejection of the "freaks" who have sheltered him as one of their own.

In this strange, moving novel, the author of sea adventures The Wreckers and The Smugglers has built a compelling metaphor for the universal teenage fear of being declared an outsider. With great emotional veracity, Iain Lawrence plays many intriguing variations on the theme of alienation in a work full of fascinating characters, marvelous scenes, and tragic surprises. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

From Publishers Weekly
An albino boy runs off to find comfort among the members of a circus troupe in post-WWII America. In a starred review, PW wrote, "This poignant adventure invites readers to look beyond others' outer appearances and into their souls." Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 8-10-Harold Kline, an albino, is taunted with names such as "ghost," "whitey," and "maggot" by the residents of his small Midwestern town. His father and much-admired older brother have been lost in World War II and his mother has married a man who doesn't understand his fears or his dreams. Harold thinks he has found salvation the day Hunter and Green's Traveling Circus comes to town. With the encouragement of sideshow "freaks" Princess Minikin, the Fossil Man, and the Gypsy Magda, he runs away with the troupe of performers. The Ghost's journey is one of discovery, and by the time the circus reaches Oregon, Harold has learned that most things in life are not as they appear, and that true beauty and freakishness are determined by a person's soul, not by his face. Lawrence's outstanding coming-of-age novel features fascinating, fully rounded characters who drive the story forward while drawing readers in to think about perceptions vs. reality. The setting is wonderfully realized and captures the magic of the big top and the decidedly different world behind the scenes. This touching novel will speak especially to readers who consider themselves different, flawed, or misunderstood.
Toni D. Moore, Simon Kenton High School, Independence, KY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Ghost Boy Stands More Than a Ghost of a Chance
Ghost Boy, by Iain Lawrence, is the story of an albino boy named Harold. An albino lacks coloring matter in the skin, hair, and eyes, and so is very white in appearance. Harold lives as an outcast for the first part of his life, until he runs away to the circus. He is adopted by Princess Minikin and Fossil Man. For the first time, he begins to feel accepted by others. He meets another albino, the Cannibal King. He falls in love with Flip. Harold even teaches the elephants in the show to play baseball. But Harold finds that even here, there are the "freaks" and the others that are considered normal, and he is confused as to which group he belongs. Ghost Boy is an unforgettable book that entertained as well as captured my attention. I give it five stars and highly recommend it. It was an interesting book that held many emotions, including sadness, happiness, mysteriousness, suspense, humor, and anger. Ghost Boy helped me to understand the struggles and pain of those who feel they are different

The Big Question
No two people are exactly alike; it is our differences that set us apart and make us unique. This is precisely the topic that author Iain Lawrence addresses in Ghost Boy. Through his use of visual imagery and foreshadowing, Lawrence is able to create an adventuresome tale of a boy who grows up to understand more about the world in which he lives.
Since the story is easy to read, it is the passages of lush imagery that keep the interest of the advanced. The entire story is based around Harold, a teenage albino boy who has no friends. He lives in a small town where his unusual looks are target for the other kids to bully him. His "skin like rich white chocolate" and his "eyes [of] such a pale blue that they [are] almost clear, like raindrops" make Harold extremely self-conscious about himself (1). However, through his growth and development, Harold comes to accept himself, despite his unusual appearance. Lawrence poses the question of who is to decide what makes someone normal in the first place?
Adding to the suspense that moves the story along is foreshadowing. When Harold decides to run away and join the circus, he meets the Gypsy Magda. She reads his tea-leaves one night and predicts three major events to happen in the near future. She mentions a young child that will be on death's door, yet will be saved, she talks about a great danger, and she claims that a devastating tragedy will occur. Around the middle of the book the first two predictions come true. The reader is then left wondering if any of various small occurrences could be the big tragedy that is predicted. However, it is not until the end that the reader realizes exactly what the tragedy is.
Although Ghost Boy is suitable for young adult readers, it is the more mature readers who will be able to pick up on the hidden meanings and lessons in the text. Lawrence encourages one to be more accepting of those who are different, while also writing a story to be remembered.

The ghost boy
The ghost boy was a really great book. The book was really intresting it started getting really scary in the middle of it . The ghost boy is a book that suprises you because it is a mind twister. I would really consider teenagers to read this book for a report , because they will be surprised when they find out what happens.