Breath of a Ghost

Anne Hutchings is an elementary-school teacher-librarian with the Durham
Board of Education.

Darien’s younger brother, Jeri, has died of leukemia. Preoccupied with
their own grief, his parents have little time for him, and his
schoolmates simply don’t know what to say. Terrifying nightmares
plague Darien. He escapes to the coulees near his home to find peace.
But the nightmare, with its all-too-real dangers, follows him there.
Through it all, Darien senses Jeri’s presence, disturbing yet oddly
comforting.

Anita Horrocks writes with depth and compassion about Darien’s
complex feelings: his disgust and frustration when well-meaning people
speak of Jeri as having “passed away,” or, worse still, try to
pretend that nothing has happened; his anger toward his brother for
dying and toward his parents and the doctors and nurses for letting it
happen; the guilt he feels for playing and laughing on the day of
Jeri’s funeral; and his eventual acceptance of Jeri’s death.

Breath of a Ghost is a commendable treatment of a subject rarely
addressed in children’s literature. Highly recommended.