Ghost in the Machine

From one of Canada's most respected and prolific authors for young people comes this wondrous tale of troubled pasts, uncertain futures - and a '72 Volkswagen. Fifteen-year-old Tyler Graham loves the Kootenay Valley, with its beautiful lake and surrounding mountains. His personal life, though, is a completely different story. He walks on eggshells around his mother, still fragile after her twin brother's tragic death in a car accident four years earlier. His father, unable to help, is drifting away from the family. His grandfather, Rodney, driven by long-buried antagonisms, can't open his mouth without saying something mean. And then there's the Beaton Boys, bullies from Ty's school. The ones who call him Fatso. What Ty needs is something new in his life, something to pour his hopes, dreams and abilities into. One summer night, in a car graveyard behind his house, a blinking light leads him to his uncle's wrecked '72 Volkswagen. A guy he's never seen before sits in the driver's seat: "Fix it." he says. Ty sets out to fix the classic car with the help of Haley Nixon, a girl visiting from the city. As the kids bring the car back to life, they uncover secrets from the past and begin a process of healing. In the end, as a forest fire threatens the valley, Ty and his family find the courage to deal with the past. In changing something outside himself. Ty has built the confidence and strength he needs for his own life.