The only book by John Steinbeck I ever read was Of Mice and Men. It was assigned at some point in school and I remember being horrified by the dead mouse. I also watched the Henry Fonda version of Grapes of Wrath and while it was less upsetting it was certainly depressing. For decades now I have considered Steinbeck to be one of those all important American authors whose work I had no interest - at all - in ever spending any more time on. I was still more than willing to read Lewis Buzbee's news teen novel Steinbeck's Ghost however because it centers on the near closing of the John Steinbeck Library in Salinas a few years ago and was also a bit of a mystery. I did not expect the book to be so much about the Steinbeck's work however, nor did I expect A Wrinkle in Time, Ray Bradbury and even The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankenweiler to all play a small part.

In case you're wondering, I loved this book. From the very first page I thought it was an absolute delight.

Buzbee has done something really unusual with this book. First off it is about the threatened closings of the public libraries in Salinas and how a young teen, Travis, gets involved to save the library he loves so much. But it's also about Travis and his parents who have recently moved into a gated community that reminds him of Camazotz - the sinister perfect world in Wrinkle in Time. If you live in a homeowner association controlled perfect little suburban neighborhood like I do - where no one can work on a car in the driveway or put up a clothesline or attach a basketball hoop above their garage - then you will recognize Travis's new home. His parents are busting their butts at new jobs to pay for this great house but always gone because of work. This has upset the family dynamic in a big way and Buzbee gives the dark side of fulfilling the American dream a lot of his attention. You always want to live in a bigger house in a newer neighborhood but if you have to work 18 hours a day to keep it, is it really a good thing? This is what Travis is struggling with as he learns about the library possibly closing and the chance to save something he loves - a place that used to mean so much back when his parents had time to spend not working - becomes the center of his life. He throws himself at the new project and meets a lot of cool people along the way - including, apparently, a lot of literary ghosts.

The hook that makes Steinbeck's Ghost transcend the coming-of-age genre, is that Buzbee throws in the fact that Steinbeck's ghost seems to be haunting his old house. Also several characters from his books seem to be appearing and disappearing for mysterious reasons and the lost town he wrote about in The Pastures of Heaven and The Long Valley gains sudden significance. Travis needs to find out what really happened there and what it was that Steinbeck could never bring himself to write about.


Steinbeck's Ghost is an exceedingly literary mystery for teens and certainly on par with comparable books written for adults. Buzbee doesn't shy away from digging into Steinbeck's life or books and all of it - from Cannery Row to his westerns to his constant exploration of life for the "common man" is analyzed here by Travis and his friends (some of whom are young and some who are much older). I never read Cannery Row or Sea of Cortez or The Pastures of Heaven, all of which I am determined to pick up now. For that alone, Buzbee is to be commended - he is a writer who generates interest in the works of others. But I also loved Steinbeck's Ghost because it knows its audience is smart and capable and treats them that way from the very beginning. You've got a mystery, a ghost story (several in fact), a coming-of-age tale, a family drama with some serious discussion of social and economic class and what that means to a kid, and some very excellent "buddy" moments. It's rare I find a book that is the whole reading package but this one certainly is it. My full review will be in my October column and the book is due out next month. If you know a curious kid with a deep thought or two then you must - MUST - steer them in the direction of this title. It is what I look for when I review; the book that you are so very happy to tell everyone else about.