Picking Up the Ghost“African magic and folklore color this unusual coming-of-age story” as a teenage boy faces a haunting journey after hearing of his estranged father’s death (Publishers Weekly). It isn’t easy living in the dying city of St. Jude, Mississippi. But when a letter informs fourteen-year-old Cinque Williams of the passing of the father he never met, he suddenly comes face to face with the struggles he’s always avoided: his incomplete past and uncertain future. That’s when the strange hand reaches down through his dreams to snatch away his heart. A curse meant for his father condemns Cinque to a slow death even as it opens his eyes to the strange otherworld around him. With help from the ghost Willy T, an enigmatic White Woman named Iku, an African Loa, and a devious shape-shifter, Cinque gathers the tools to confront the ghost of his dead father. But he will learn that sometimes too much knowledge can be dangerous—and the people he trusts most are those poised to betray him. |
Contents
Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication 1 Its a Big World | |
To Be With Your Pops | |
Visited | |
Past the Clay | |
Uncrushed and Undisturbed | |
A Horrible Gray Light | |
Smelled Like Flowers | |
In that House | |
Meet | |
Smileless | |
Didnt Want to Know | |
Powerless | |
In the Cold Dark | |
Friend of Yours | |
The Mechanism | |
Someplace with Less Distractions | |
Do Something Stupid | |
Took a Long Look | |
To Keep Hold | |
Back Down the Hill | |
If I Aint | |
Hitting the Dirt | |
Too Cold to Hurt | |
Something Right | |
Common terms and phrases
African ain’t arms asked better body bottle building called Catcher cause Chicago Cinque Cinque’s clay close Cuttlefish dark Darren dead didn’t don’t door dropped eyes face father feel feet felt figure finally fingers Fool front gave ghost give gonna gotta grabbed Grandma ground hand happened hard he’d head heart held inside it’s Jaspers Jude keep Kelly Lee killed knew Knight legs looked magic mean mouth moved never once passed picked picture pointed pulled pushed remember rest screwdriver seen shook side smell smiled someone sound spirit started stepped stood stopped sure talking tell That’s things thought told took tried trying turned voice waited walked watched Willy window Yeah