Jason Reynolds Pens Letter to Readers for Special-Edition “Ghost” Giveaway

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Ghost cover

This week, 490 American Booksellers Association member stores, as part of the “Indie Bookstores Give Back on Small Business Saturday” campaign (#IndiesGiveBack), are working with local schools and educational programs to give away nearly 20,000 copies of author Jason Reynolds’ middle-grade novel Ghost to young readers.

The special-edition paperback issue includes a heartfelt letter from Reynolds to the young recipients of the books. Read it for yourself here:


Jason Reynolds

Dear Reader,

I know you have a name and I wish I knew it. I wish I could say, Dear Chris, or Dear Jasmine. Or maybe even call you by a nickname like Dear Cuz or Dear Peanut. Actually, it would be kind of awesome if your name really was Reader. So, let’s pretend it is. Reader, whoever you are, this is the world’s greatest book (ahem), and it’s for the world’s greatest you. Trust me. I’m the guy who wrote it. And I wrote it with you in mind. My hope is that you and Ghost become friends. That his story and yours mix and mash and become a new tale — one of reader and book. A tale of familiar and far away. A tale of Maybe reading isn’t the worst thing on Earth. A tale that belongs to you. Just like the bookstore or bookseller that gave it to you. Yes, that bookstore is yours also. It’s a place for you to learn the world around you, live in a world of imagination, and love the world within. And, Reader, trust me, those are the world’s greatest worlds.

Next time I see you, we’ll gossip about Ghost and bookstores. Until then, read on.

Your friend,

Writer,
also known as Pumpkin,
also known as J,
also known as

Jason