Site Preferences
Follow Us
Ghost Boys: The Graphic Novel
Contributors
Illustrated by Setor Fiadzigbey
Formats and Prices
- On Sale
- Dec 2, 2025
- Page Count
- 264 pages
- Publisher
- Little, Brown Ink
- ISBN-13
- 9780316279796
- Age Range
- 8–14
Price
$24.99Price
$32.99 CADFormat
Format:
- Hardcover $24.99 $32.99 CAD
- ebook $1.99 $2.99 CAD
- Trade Paperback $13.99 $18.99 CAD
This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around December 2, 2025. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.
Buy from Other Retailers:
Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that is unleashed on his family and community in the wake of this unjust and brutal killing.
Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey toward recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer who shot him, as she grapples with her father’s actions.
Now gorgeously a graphic novel with gripping artwork from Black Panther illustrator Setor Fiadzigbey, Ghost Boys once again deftly explores the historical and sociopolitical layers involved in how children and families face the complexities of today’s world—and how one boy, in particular, comes to understand American Blackness in the aftermath of his own death.
Genre:
-
Praise for Ghost Boys:2026 Indie Next Pick
A New York Times BestsellerAn IndieBound BestsellerThe #1 Kids' Indies Next PickA 2018 Nerdies List BookAn ALA 2019 Children's Notables List Pick -
"This was one of my most anticipated 2018 books and I was not disappointed. A must read."Angie Thomas, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give
-
"will introduce a whole new audience to this powerful and pivotal story" --School Library JournalSchool Library Journal
-
"A timely, challenging book that's worthy of a read, further discussion, and action."Kirkus Reviews
-
* "Rhodes captures the all-too-real pain of racial injustice and provides an important window for readers who are just beginning to explore the ideas of privilege and implicit bias."School Library Journal, starred review
-
* "An excellent novel that delves into the timely topic of racism...with the question of whether or not we really have come far when dealing with race relations."School Library Connection, starred review
-
"In writing that's spare and powerful, Rhodes takes us into the hearts and minds of those who are left behind, and then out into a vast and luminous world where ghost boys wander among the living, pursuing their mysterious mission. Rhodes has achieved something remarkable here: a kid's-eye-view of violence and racism that balances innocence and outrage, wrenching loss and hard-won hope."Chicago Tribune
-
"[A] potent story that deserves to be read."VOYA
-
"Ghost Boys is powerful in prose, and so important at this time. I hope parents will read this book to their children."The Monitor
You May Also Like
Discussion Questions
- How did you react to the beginning of Ghost Boys?
- Rhodes writes Ghost Boys largely in short, blunt sentences. Why do you think she chose to write the book in this style? What effect does it have on your reading experience?
- In what ways does Ghost Boys connect the past and the present? How, and why, does the book jump backwards and forwards in time?
- What was the importance in showing the preliminary hearings?
- What is racial bias, and how does it affect the story of Ghost Boys, and real events?
- Many people have interpreted Black Lives Matter as an “anti-police” movement. Does Ghost Boys strike you as an anti-police book? How does the book portray Officer Moore, and police in general?
- What did you know about Black Lives Matter and the civil rights movement before reading Ghost Boys? How did that inform your reading of the book? What have you learned about these movements through the book?
- Why does Ghost Boys reference Peter Pan?
- How does Jerome’s experience of being bullied affect his sense of self and his relationships with family members?
- What is the purpose in Sarah’s character, and her having the ability to see Jerome? What does she symbolize?
- What about Carlos’s character? What role does the Day of the Dead play in Ghost Boys?
- How does the spirituality of Día de los Muertos connect to Grandma’s (and Kim’s) understanding of death?
- Why is it important that Carlos admits to giving Jerome the toy gun?
- Who was Emmett Till? How does his real story affect the story Ghost Boys, and what is the significance in Emmett Till telling Jerome his story?
- What does the author mean by “Even though life ends, it also doesn’t end” (p.146)?
- Why does Emmett Till tell Jerome, “Bear witness”? What does “bear witness” mean?
- Jerome’s grandmother frequently asks others to “tell me three good things.” Track the repetition of this motif throughout the novel. What does it reveal about Grandma, Jerome, and other characters? When does it reappear and what are the relationships between those scenes?
- The author writes, “Can’t undo wrong. Can only do our best to make things right.” What is the significance of this? What are some ways that you can make things right?
- Jerome notes that Emmett’s attackers were found innocent, just like Officer Moore. What is the significance of this?
- Why haven’t the ghost boys said goodbye?
- What does the author mean by “Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better”What are the ways you can make the world better?
- What did you think of Ghost Boys? How did it make you feel?
- How do you think Ghost Boys might affect the way you see other people, America, and the world?
- How do words and images work together to tell Jerome’s story? What is the impact of seeing his story in addition to reading his words?
- What is your favorite piece of artwork from Ghost Boys: The Graphic Novel? Why did it resonate with you?
