Track #01 Ghost is a book that is praised for its diverseness (an author and characters of color). However, I forgot that these characters were “not white” and focused on the struggles of 
Castle. Or Ghost as he prefers. That and the fact they deal with a lesser explored sport, running, are probably the two best parts of the book. Which is to say, since that is the book, it is a good book.
The metaphor Jason Reynolds gives you is Ghost is always running: running from his past, his mistakes, even people wanting to help him. And even when he is running towards something, it is to get away from where he is. But he cannot outrun the one thing that is faster than he is: his memories.
While I feel for Ghost (I know that story of “the bully pushes you too far, then you snap, but no one ever sees the bully, just how we react and appreciate that he has a less than ideal life), his attitude (while understandable) gets draining after a while. Even though he adores his mother, he is selfish, sometimes, even thoughtless. Things are never his fault. He is a typical middle-school kid. Yet, even when he starts to find his place, running track, I never felt he understood the consequences of his actions totally. He still never really seems to take responsibility for them. Yet, there is growth, too. This contradiction was an interesting mix.
The story is straight forward: Ghost stumbles on a town track practice for kids his age. And due to his arrogance (and fear) Ghost cannot let it go that these kids think they are fast. And why do they get moms cheering at a practice and his must work late and bring home hospital cafeteria food for dinner? Nobody is as fast as Ghost or deserves better than him. After all, he outran a bullet aimed at his head. Literally.
Perhaps if the book was longer, there could be more character development, but at the same time, perhaps all you need is this less than 200 paged book. You just need a peek at a “day in the life” (over several weeks) look at a kid dealing with some extremely difficult times. Three other characters have their own story and reading them will tie everything together. Therefore, I will be finding Patina (Book 2), Book 3: Sunny and Book Four: Lu.