Trace

By Pat Cummings

In a debut novel that's perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Erin Entrada Kelly, award-winning author/illustrator and educator Pat Cummings tells a poignant story about grief, love, and the untold stories that echo across time. 

Trace Carter doesn’t know how to feel at ease in his new life in New York. Even though his artsy Auntie Lea is cool, her brownstone still isn’t his home. Haunted by flashbacks of the accident that killed his parents, the best he can do is try to distract himself from memories of the past.

But the past isn’t done with him. When Trace takes a wrong turn in the New York Public Library, he finds someone else lost in the stacks with him: a crying little boy, wearing old, tattered clothes.

And though at first he can’t quite believe he’s seen a ghost, Trace soon discovers that the boy he saw has ties to Trace’s own history—and that he himself may be the key to setting the dead to rest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062698865

Pat Cummings

Pat Cummings was raised as an Army "brat" in Germany, Okinawa, and Kansas (!), using art as an entree whenever she moved from school to school. Having created everything from board books to teen novels, nonfiction to children's television, she now teaches a children's book course at Parson's School of Design and at her alma mater, Pratt Institute.

Reviews for Trace

[jennybeast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Starts out with a semi-typical kid surviving loss and massive displacement, getting used to a new school, but quickly introduces some genuinely creepy ghost encounters, that then weave throughout the book. Masterful storytelling that allows Trace's relationships to slowly unfold as he gets used to his new surroundings.

Trace is a middle-schooler (12? I think? 6th or 7th grader? I can't remember if this was specified), who has just been picked to lead a group project on the the decade of US history in the 1860s. The group project ends up leading him to the New York Public Library, where Trace has an experience that alienates him from his classmates and shakes up his understanding of the world. I don't want to put spoilers in here, because there's some interesting and delicate plot shifts, and it's cool to see everything gradually connect. Highlights for me: Trace's colorful aunt, with her eclectic crowd of Brooklyn friends and her deep love of exploratory cooking; mean girl comeuppance; kids being kids in the awkward beginning of romance age; Trace's journey to healing as he comes to terms with the recent deaths of his parents and his own survival; particularly vivid and sometimes dreamlike scenes, beautifully conveyed; a really cool take on finding what interests you in history and making it relatable. Enjoyable read.

Advanced Reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.