How I became a Ghost is a stunner of a book that deserves to be widely read, not just by kids but by grown-ups. I'd heard of the Trail of Tears, and knew it was horrible, but now it has been made real to me. And it was a really good story, with lots of magical, exciting, adventure.Isaac, the narrator of the story, is a ghost. But when his story begins, he is an ordinary kid, growing up in a close-knit Choctaw community. "I'm ten years old and I'm not a ghost yet. My name is Isaac and I have a mother and a father and a big brother, Luke. I have a dog, too. His name is Jumper, and he is my best friend. We go everywhere together. We swim in the river together; we chase chickens together." Only the date at the top of the chapter, 1830, tells the reader this is a long ago story.Isaac's life is about to be destroyed. The Choctaw are about to be driven out on the long forced march from their ancestral homeland in Mississippi to Oklahoma--on foot, in winter. Many will die, and Isaac finds himself seeing visions foreshadowing who, and how. And he knows that he will be among those who do not make it, and that he will become a ghost.But though what happens is almost unbearably harsh, Tim Tingle accomplishes something remarkable with the way in which Isaac tells his story. Without diminishing the import and impact of the suffering and death, he manages to make his characters more than just the sum of their horrible experiences, and their story more than just a litany of darkness. Part of this comes from Isaac's voice--he's very much a lovable, somewhat naive kid; a typical ten-year-old boy (who happens to be a ghost), telling his story in a matter-of-fact way with touches of humor. Another escape from darkness comes from the resilience of the Choctaw people, who face the horrible hand they've been dealt with heroism, determination, and the strength of their community, one that includes the ancestors and the recent dead as well as with the living. And because death does not sever the bonds of family, the fact that Isaac becomes a ghost is desperately sad, but not as emotionally devastating as it might be.And the final thing that keeps the weight of the subject from crushing the reader is that Isaac's story is also a gripping adventure, one that finds him on a desperate mission to save a teenage girl from the soldiers forcing the march onward...with the help of an unexpected ally, a shape-shifting panther boy. This adventure is one with tremendous appeal for younger readers (shape-shifting panther boy! desperate escape involving schemes and subterfuge!), making the pages turn fast and furiously.And an even more final, small, thing--Isaac's dog Jumper is a joy.This is historical fiction doing what the best historical fiction does--making part of the past come alive, jolting the reader into new knowledge of the past and its atrocities while keeping them engrossed in a great story. And it's the best sort of historical fiction for kids--teaching without preaching, telling a story that's exciting and entertaining, while packing an emotional punch that leaves the reader stunned and changed. It's the first of a trilogy, and I am looking forward to the next book lots.