Allie loves baseball. It's the one thing that has been consistent in her lately complicated life. Allie's father left recently, and now Allie has a new family -- her mother's new girlfriend, Phyllis, and son Miles have moved in. It's taking some adjustment, mostly because Miles
Publisher: n/a
|
9781459403789
|
Paperback
Bleed Like Me
By Desir, C.
From the author of Fault Line comes an edgy and heartbreaking novel about two self-destructive teens in a Sid and Nancylike romance full of passion chaos and dyed hairSeventeen-year-old Amelia Gannon just Gannon to her friends is invisible to almost everyone in her life To her parents to her teacherseven her best friend who is more interested in bumming cigarettes than bonding Some days the only way Gannon knows she is real is by carving bloody lines into the flesh of her stomach Then she meets Michael Brooks and for the first time she feels like she is being seen to the core of her being Obnoxious controlling damaged and addictive he inserts himself into her life until all her scars are exposed Each moment together is a passionate painful relief But as the relationship deepens Gannon starts to feel as if shes standing at the foot of a dam about to burst Shes given up everything and everyone in her life for him but somehow nothing is enough for Brooksuntil he poses the ultimate test Bleed Like Me is a piercing intimate portrayal of the danger of a love so obsessive it becomes its own biggest threat.
Publisher: n/a
|
1442498900
|
Hardcover
Tap Out
By Devine, Eric
Seventeen-year-old Tony Antioch lives in Pleasant Meadows, a trailer park where questions aren't asked since everyone already knows the answers from their own experience. He dreams of rescuing his mother from her constant stream of abusive boyfriends but in reality can barely duck the punches that are aimed at himself.When Tony is coerced into joining his friend Rob's Mixed Martial Arts class, he is surprised to find that he has a talent that he actually wants to develop. But with a meth-dealing biker gang that is hungry for recruits and a vicious cycle of poverty and violence that precedes him, Tony is going to need a lot more than blood and guts to find a way out.Gritty, powerful, and unapologetic, Tap Out explores what it takes to stay true to oneself and the consequences of the choices made along the way in order to do so.
Publisher: n/a
|
762445696
|
Paperback
A Matter of Heart
By Dominy, Amy Fellner
"A novel that will make your heart pound--anxiously, joyfully, triumphantly."--New York Times Bestselling Author, Lauren Myracle. Readers will happily sink into this emotionally grounded, contemporary young adult novel about the sudden end of one girl's Olympic swimming dreams and the struggles she endures before realizing there are many things that define who we are. Sixteen-year-old Abby Lipman is on track to win the state swim championships and qualify for the Olympic trials when a fainting incident at a swim meet leads to the diagnosis of a deadly heart condition. Now Abby is forced to discover who she is without the one thing that's defined her entire life.Praise for A Matter of Heart: "This engaging and fast-paced read expertly paints the world of high-school sports and the single-minded focus and commitment that some high-school athletes can have.
Publisher: n/a
|
385744439
|
Print book
Wild Cards
By Elkeles, Simone
After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek's counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else's family drama.Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. So when her older sister comes home after abandoning her ten years earlier, with her hot new stepson in tow, Ashtyn wants nothing to do with either of them. Then she comes up with a plan that would finally give her the chance to leave, but it requires trusting Derek--someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules.
Publisher: n/a
|
802734375
|
Hardcover
Change-Up
By Feinstein, John
A behind-the-scenes mystery at the World Series from bestseller John Feinstein. Bestselling author, journalist, and Edgar Award winner John Feinstein is back with another high-stakes sports mystery. Teen reporters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson are covering baseball's World Series, and during the course of an interview with a new hot pitcher, they discover more than a few contradictions in his life story. What's he hiding? An embarrassing secret? A possible crime? Let the investigation begin!
Publisher: n/a
|
375847596
|
Paperback
Lost in the Sun
By Graff, Lisa
From the author of A Tangle of Knots and Absolutely Almost, a touching story about a boy who won't let one tragic accident define him. Everyone says that middle school is awful, but Trent knows nothing could be worse than the year he had in fifth grade, when a freak accident on Cedar Lake left one kid dead, and Trent with a brain full of terrible thoughts he can't get rid of. Trent's pretty positive the entire disaster was his fault, so for him middle school feels like a fresh start, a chance to prove to everyone that he's not the horrible screw-up they seem to think he is. If only Trent could make that fresh start happen. It isn't until Trent gets caught up in the whirlwind that is Fallon Little - the girl with the mysterious scar across her face - that things begin to change. Because fresh starts aren't always easy. Even in baseball, when a fly ball gets lost in the sun, you have to remember to shift your position to find it. Praise for Lost in the Sun: A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year! * "Graff writes with stunning insight [and] consistently demonstrates why character-driven novels can live from generation to generation."--Kirkus Reviews *STARRED** "Graff creates layered, vulnerable characters that are worth getting to know."--BOOKLIST *STARRED** "[A]n ambitious and gracefully executed story."--Publishers Weekly *STARRED* * "Weighty matters deftly handled with humor and grace will give this book wide appeal."--School Library Journal *STARRED* * "Characterization is thoughtful."--BCCB *STARRED* "In Lost in the Sun, Trent decides that he will speak the truth: that pain and anger and loss are not the final words, that goodness can find us after all - even when we hide from it. This is a novel that speaks powerfully, honestly, almost shockingly about our human pain and our human redemption. This book will change you." - Gary Schmidt, two-time Newbery Honor-winning author of The Wednesday Wars and Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy "Lisa Graff crafts a compelling story about a boy touched with tragedy and the world of people he cares about. And like all the best stories, it ends at a new beginning." - Richard Peck, Newbery Award-winning author of A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way From Chicago Lisa Graff's Awards and Reviews: Lisa Graff's books have been named to 30 state award lists, and A Tangle of Knots was long-listed for the National Book Award.
Publisher: n/a
|
9780399164064
|
Hardcover
Jack Strong Takes a Stand
By Greenwald, Tommy
Jack Strong just wants to be a regular kid. But his parents have overscheduled his week with every extracurricular activity under the sun: tennis, baseball, cello, karate, tutoring, and Chinese language lessons -- all on top of regular homework. His parents want him to be "well-rounded" and prepared for those crucial college applications. Jack's just about had enough. And so, in Jack Strong Takes a Stand by Tommy Greenwald, he stages a sit-in on his couch and refuses to get up until his parents let him quit some of the extracurriculars. As Jack's protest gains momentum, he attracts a local television host who is interested in doing a segment about him. Tensions rise as counter-protesters camp out across the street from Jack and his couch. Jack's enjoying this newfound attention, but he's worried that this sit-in may have gone too far.
Publisher: n/a
|
9781596438361
|
Print book
None of the Above
By Gregorio, I. W.
A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she's intersex . . . and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned - something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?
Publisher: n/a
|
9780062335319
|
Print book
Conviction
By Gilbert, Kelly Loy
"A small-town boy questions everything he holds to be true when his father is accused of murder"--
Publisher: n/a
|
9781484719435
|
eBook
Stick
By Harmon, Michael
"Stick" is the best wide receiver in the history of his high school - the football seems magnetically drawn to his hands, hence his nickname. Preston is an outcast, and his pipsqueak stature and nerdy social status couldn't be further from a star athlete's. Stick puts on his football costume every week to make others - his teammates, his dad, everyone but himself - happy, but he's fallen out of love with the sport and feels that he's lost control of his future. Preston puts on his homemade superhero costume every night to help others, too: to avenge his father's murder, he's determined to right the wrongs he sees in his neighborhood and regain control of the flawed world he sees around him. A twist of fate brings this unlikely pair together in a friendship that is as odd as it is true.
Publisher: n/a
|
385754361
|
Print book
Losers Take All
By Klass, David
In this table-turning novel about the thrill of defeat and the agony of victory, the new rule at Jack Logan's sports-crazy New Jersey high school is that all kids must play on a team. So Jack and a ragtag group of anti-athletic friends decide to get even. They are going to start a rebel JV soccer team whose mission is to avoid victory at any cost, setting out to secretly undermine the jock culture of the school. But as the team's losing formula becomes increasingly successful at attracting fans and attention, Jack and his teammates are winning in ways they never expected-and don't know how to handle.
Publisher: n/a
|
374301360
|
Print book
Second Impact
By Klass, David
Kendall is football town, and Jerry Downing is the high school's star quarterback, working to redeem himself after he nearly killed a girl in a drunk driving accident last year. Carla Jenson, lead reporter for the school newspaper's sports section, has recruited Jerry to co-author a blog chronicling the season from each of their perspectives. When Jerry's best friend on the team takes a hit too hard and gets hurt, Carla wonders publicly if injury in the game comes at too high a cost in a player's life -- but not everyone in Kendall wants to hear it...David Klass and Perri Klass's Second Impact is an action-packed story will resonate with readers who have been following recent news stories are football injuries.
Publisher: n/a
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374379963
|
Print book
Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs
By Koertge, Ron
Fielding his social life is a bigger challenge for Kevin than hitting a fastball in Ron Koertge's funny, insightful sequel to SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP.Fourteen-year-old Kevin Boland has a passion for playing baseball, aknack for writing poetry - and a cute girlfriend named Mira who's not much interested in either. But then, Kevin doesn't exactly share Mira's newfound fervor for all things green. So when Kevin signs up for open mike night at Bungalow Books and meets Amy, a girl who knows a sonnet from a sestina and can match his emails verse for verse, things start to get sticky. Should he stay with Mira? Or risk spoiling his friendship with Amy by asking her out? Ron Koertge, master of snappy dialogue and a deft poet, offers a fast-paced, sympathetic story that interweaves two narrative voices with humor and warmth.
Publisher: n/a
|
763644358
|
Print book
Head Games
By Mikulski, Keri
Taylor is calm, cool, collected, and ferocious on the basketball court. A total all-star. Not so much in real life. She may be tall, gorgeous, and an incredible catch, but just try telling her that! And lately, Taylor doesn't know which way to turn: The summer showcase gam
Publisher: n/a
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1595143874
|
Paperback
Dairy Queen
By Murdock, Catherine Gilbert
When you dont talk, theres a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. cant help admitting, maybe hes right. When you dont talk, theres a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isnt so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers wont even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. When you dont talk, theres a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.
Publisher: n/a
|
9780618683079
|
Hardcover
Game
By Myers, Walter Dean
Drew Lawson knows basketball is taking him places. It has to, because his grades certainly aren't. But lately his plan has run squarely into a pick. Coach's new offense has made another player a star, and Drew won't let anyone disrespect his game. Just as his team makes the pla
Publisher: n/a
|
60582944
|
Hardcover
Latitude Zero
By Renn, Diana
"I have to run," said Juan Carlos. "You will call? Please? It is very important." "Yes. I will call. Definitely. At two." That's what Tessa promises. But by two o'clock, young Ecuadorian cycling superstar Juan Carlos is dead, and Tessa, one of the last people ever to speak to him, is left with nothing but questions. The media deems Juan Carlos's death a tragic accident at a charity bike ride, but Tessa, an aspiring investigative journalist herself, knows that something more is going on. While she grapples with her own grief and guilt, she is being stalked by spies with an insidious connection to the dead cycling champion. Tessa's pursuit of an explanation for Juan Carlos's untimely death leads her from the quiet New England backwoods to bustling bike shops and ultimately to Ecuador itself, Juan Carlos's homeland.
Publisher: n/a
|
9780670015580
|
Book
Stand-Off
By Smith, Andrew
Ryan Dean West is back to his boarding school antics in this bitingly funny sequel to Winger, which Publishers Weekly called "alternately hilarious and painful, awkward and enlightening" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) .It's his last year at Pine Mountain, and Ryan Dean should be focused on his future, but instead, he's haunted by his past. His rugby coach expects him to fill the roles once played by his lost friend, Joey, as the rugby team's stand-off and new captain. And somehow he's stuck rooming with twelve-year-old freshman Sam Abernathy, a cooking whiz with extreme claustrophobia and a serious crush on Annie Altman - aka Ryan Dean's girlfriend, for now, anyway. Equally distressing, Ryan Dean's doodles and drawings don't offer the relief they used to.
Publisher: n/a
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9781481418317
|
Print book
This Side of Salvation
By Smith-ready, Jeri
Everyone mourns differently. When his older brother was killed, David got angry. As in, fist-meets-someone-else's-face furious. But his parents? They got religious. David's still figuring out his relationship with a higher power, but there's one thing he does know for sure: The closer he gets to new-girl Bailey, the better, brighter, happier, more he feels. Then his parents start cutting all their worldly ties in to prepare for the Rush, the divine moment when the faithful will be whisked off to Heaven...and they want David to do the same. David's torn. There's a big difference between living in the moment and giving up his best friend, varsity baseball, and Bailey--especially Bailey--in hope of salvation. But when he comes home late from prom, and late for the Rush, to find that his parents have vanished, David is in more trouble than he ever could have imagined.
Publisher: n/a
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1442439483
|
Hardcover
The Running Dream
By Draanen, Wendelin Van
Winner of the 2012 Schneider Family Book AwardJessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. Shes not comforted by the news that shell be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who dont know what to say, act like shes not there. Which she could handle better if she werent now keenly aware that shed done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math shes missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again.
Double Play
By Cassidy, Sara
Allie loves baseball. It's the one thing that has been consistent in her lately complicated life. Allie's father left recently, and now Allie has a new family -- her mother's new girlfriend, Phyllis, and son Miles have moved in. It's taking some adjustment, mostly because Miles
Bleed Like Me
By Desir, C.
From the author of Fault Line comes an edgy and heartbreaking novel about two self-destructive teens in a Sid and Nancylike romance full of passion chaos and dyed hairSeventeen-year-old Amelia Gannon just Gannon to her friends is invisible to almost everyone in her life To her parents to her teacherseven her best friend who is more interested in bumming cigarettes than bonding Some days the only way Gannon knows she is real is by carving bloody lines into the flesh of her stomach Then she meets Michael Brooks and for the first time she feels like she is being seen to the core of her being Obnoxious controlling damaged and addictive he inserts himself into her life until all her scars are exposed Each moment together is a passionate painful relief But as the relationship deepens Gannon starts to feel as if shes standing at the foot of a dam about to burst Shes given up everything and everyone in her life for him but somehow nothing is enough for Brooksuntil he poses the ultimate test Bleed Like Me is a piercing intimate portrayal of the danger of a love so obsessive it becomes its own biggest threat.
Tap Out
By Devine, Eric
Seventeen-year-old Tony Antioch lives in Pleasant Meadows, a trailer park where questions aren't asked since everyone already knows the answers from their own experience. He dreams of rescuing his mother from her constant stream of abusive boyfriends but in reality can barely duck the punches that are aimed at himself.When Tony is coerced into joining his friend Rob's Mixed Martial Arts class, he is surprised to find that he has a talent that he actually wants to develop. But with a meth-dealing biker gang that is hungry for recruits and a vicious cycle of poverty and violence that precedes him, Tony is going to need a lot more than blood and guts to find a way out.Gritty, powerful, and unapologetic, Tap Out explores what it takes to stay true to oneself and the consequences of the choices made along the way in order to do so.
A Matter of Heart
By Dominy, Amy Fellner
"A novel that will make your heart pound--anxiously, joyfully, triumphantly."--New York Times Bestselling Author, Lauren Myracle. Readers will happily sink into this emotionally grounded, contemporary young adult novel about the sudden end of one girl's Olympic swimming dreams and the struggles she endures before realizing there are many things that define who we are. Sixteen-year-old Abby Lipman is on track to win the state swim championships and qualify for the Olympic trials when a fainting incident at a swim meet leads to the diagnosis of a deadly heart condition. Now Abby is forced to discover who she is without the one thing that's defined her entire life.Praise for A Matter of Heart: "This engaging and fast-paced read expertly paints the world of high-school sports and the single-minded focus and commitment that some high-school athletes can have.
Wild Cards
By Elkeles, Simone
After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek's counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else's family drama.Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. So when her older sister comes home after abandoning her ten years earlier, with her hot new stepson in tow, Ashtyn wants nothing to do with either of them. Then she comes up with a plan that would finally give her the chance to leave, but it requires trusting Derek--someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules.
Change-Up
By Feinstein, John
A behind-the-scenes mystery at the World Series from bestseller John Feinstein. Bestselling author, journalist, and Edgar Award winner John Feinstein is back with another high-stakes sports mystery. Teen reporters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson are covering baseball's World Series, and during the course of an interview with a new hot pitcher, they discover more than a few contradictions in his life story. What's he hiding? An embarrassing secret? A possible crime? Let the investigation begin!
Lost in the Sun
By Graff, Lisa
From the author of A Tangle of Knots and Absolutely Almost, a touching story about a boy who won't let one tragic accident define him. Everyone says that middle school is awful, but Trent knows nothing could be worse than the year he had in fifth grade, when a freak accident on Cedar Lake left one kid dead, and Trent with a brain full of terrible thoughts he can't get rid of. Trent's pretty positive the entire disaster was his fault, so for him middle school feels like a fresh start, a chance to prove to everyone that he's not the horrible screw-up they seem to think he is. If only Trent could make that fresh start happen. It isn't until Trent gets caught up in the whirlwind that is Fallon Little - the girl with the mysterious scar across her face - that things begin to change. Because fresh starts aren't always easy. Even in baseball, when a fly ball gets lost in the sun, you have to remember to shift your position to find it. Praise for Lost in the Sun: A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year! * "Graff writes with stunning insight [and] consistently demonstrates why character-driven novels can live from generation to generation."--Kirkus Reviews *STARRED** "Graff creates layered, vulnerable characters that are worth getting to know."--BOOKLIST *STARRED** "[A]n ambitious and gracefully executed story."--Publishers Weekly *STARRED* * "Weighty matters deftly handled with humor and grace will give this book wide appeal."--School Library Journal *STARRED* * "Characterization is thoughtful."--BCCB *STARRED* "In Lost in the Sun, Trent decides that he will speak the truth: that pain and anger and loss are not the final words, that goodness can find us after all - even when we hide from it. This is a novel that speaks powerfully, honestly, almost shockingly about our human pain and our human redemption. This book will change you." - Gary Schmidt, two-time Newbery Honor-winning author of The Wednesday Wars and Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy "Lisa Graff crafts a compelling story about a boy touched with tragedy and the world of people he cares about. And like all the best stories, it ends at a new beginning." - Richard Peck, Newbery Award-winning author of A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way From Chicago Lisa Graff's Awards and Reviews: Lisa Graff's books have been named to 30 state award lists, and A Tangle of Knots was long-listed for the National Book Award.
Jack Strong Takes a Stand
By Greenwald, Tommy
Jack Strong just wants to be a regular kid. But his parents have overscheduled his week with every extracurricular activity under the sun: tennis, baseball, cello, karate, tutoring, and Chinese language lessons -- all on top of regular homework. His parents want him to be "well-rounded" and prepared for those crucial college applications. Jack's just about had enough. And so, in Jack Strong Takes a Stand by Tommy Greenwald, he stages a sit-in on his couch and refuses to get up until his parents let him quit some of the extracurriculars. As Jack's protest gains momentum, he attracts a local television host who is interested in doing a segment about him. Tensions rise as counter-protesters camp out across the street from Jack and his couch. Jack's enjoying this newfound attention, but he's worried that this sit-in may have gone too far.
None of the Above
By Gregorio, I. W.
A groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she's intersex . . . and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Incredibly compelling and sensitively told, None of the Above is a thought-provoking novel that explores what it means to be a boy, a girl, or something in between.What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned - something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?
Conviction
By Gilbert, Kelly Loy
"A small-town boy questions everything he holds to be true when his father is accused of murder"--
Stick
By Harmon, Michael
"Stick" is the best wide receiver in the history of his high school - the football seems magnetically drawn to his hands, hence his nickname. Preston is an outcast, and his pipsqueak stature and nerdy social status couldn't be further from a star athlete's. Stick puts on his football costume every week to make others - his teammates, his dad, everyone but himself - happy, but he's fallen out of love with the sport and feels that he's lost control of his future. Preston puts on his homemade superhero costume every night to help others, too: to avenge his father's murder, he's determined to right the wrongs he sees in his neighborhood and regain control of the flawed world he sees around him. A twist of fate brings this unlikely pair together in a friendship that is as odd as it is true.
Losers Take All
By Klass, David
In this table-turning novel about the thrill of defeat and the agony of victory, the new rule at Jack Logan's sports-crazy New Jersey high school is that all kids must play on a team. So Jack and a ragtag group of anti-athletic friends decide to get even. They are going to start a rebel JV soccer team whose mission is to avoid victory at any cost, setting out to secretly undermine the jock culture of the school. But as the team's losing formula becomes increasingly successful at attracting fans and attention, Jack and his teammates are winning in ways they never expected-and don't know how to handle.
Second Impact
By Klass, David
Kendall is football town, and Jerry Downing is the high school's star quarterback, working to redeem himself after he nearly killed a girl in a drunk driving accident last year. Carla Jenson, lead reporter for the school newspaper's sports section, has recruited Jerry to co-author a blog chronicling the season from each of their perspectives. When Jerry's best friend on the team takes a hit too hard and gets hurt, Carla wonders publicly if injury in the game comes at too high a cost in a player's life -- but not everyone in Kendall wants to hear it...David Klass and Perri Klass's Second Impact is an action-packed story will resonate with readers who have been following recent news stories are football injuries.
Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs
By Koertge, Ron
Fielding his social life is a bigger challenge for Kevin than hitting a fastball in Ron Koertge's funny, insightful sequel to SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP.Fourteen-year-old Kevin Boland has a passion for playing baseball, aknack for writing poetry - and a cute girlfriend named Mira who's not much interested in either. But then, Kevin doesn't exactly share Mira's newfound fervor for all things green. So when Kevin signs up for open mike night at Bungalow Books and meets Amy, a girl who knows a sonnet from a sestina and can match his emails verse for verse, things start to get sticky. Should he stay with Mira? Or risk spoiling his friendship with Amy by asking her out? Ron Koertge, master of snappy dialogue and a deft poet, offers a fast-paced, sympathetic story that interweaves two narrative voices with humor and warmth.
Head Games
By Mikulski, Keri
Taylor is calm, cool, collected, and ferocious on the basketball court. A total all-star. Not so much in real life. She may be tall, gorgeous, and an incredible catch, but just try telling her that! And lately, Taylor doesn't know which way to turn: The summer showcase gam
Dairy Queen
By Murdock, Catherine Gilbert
When you dont talk, theres a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. cant help admitting, maybe hes right. When you dont talk, theres a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isnt so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers wont even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. When you dont talk, theres a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.
Game
By Myers, Walter Dean
Drew Lawson knows basketball is taking him places. It has to, because his grades certainly aren't. But lately his plan has run squarely into a pick. Coach's new offense has made another player a star, and Drew won't let anyone disrespect his game. Just as his team makes the pla
Latitude Zero
By Renn, Diana
"I have to run," said Juan Carlos. "You will call? Please? It is very important." "Yes. I will call. Definitely. At two." That's what Tessa promises. But by two o'clock, young Ecuadorian cycling superstar Juan Carlos is dead, and Tessa, one of the last people ever to speak to him, is left with nothing but questions. The media deems Juan Carlos's death a tragic accident at a charity bike ride, but Tessa, an aspiring investigative journalist herself, knows that something more is going on. While she grapples with her own grief and guilt, she is being stalked by spies with an insidious connection to the dead cycling champion. Tessa's pursuit of an explanation for Juan Carlos's untimely death leads her from the quiet New England backwoods to bustling bike shops and ultimately to Ecuador itself, Juan Carlos's homeland.
Stand-Off
By Smith, Andrew
Ryan Dean West is back to his boarding school antics in this bitingly funny sequel to Winger, which Publishers Weekly called "alternately hilarious and painful, awkward and enlightening" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) .It's his last year at Pine Mountain, and Ryan Dean should be focused on his future, but instead, he's haunted by his past. His rugby coach expects him to fill the roles once played by his lost friend, Joey, as the rugby team's stand-off and new captain. And somehow he's stuck rooming with twelve-year-old freshman Sam Abernathy, a cooking whiz with extreme claustrophobia and a serious crush on Annie Altman - aka Ryan Dean's girlfriend, for now, anyway. Equally distressing, Ryan Dean's doodles and drawings don't offer the relief they used to.
This Side of Salvation
By Smith-ready, Jeri
Everyone mourns differently. When his older brother was killed, David got angry. As in, fist-meets-someone-else's-face furious. But his parents? They got religious. David's still figuring out his relationship with a higher power, but there's one thing he does know for sure: The closer he gets to new-girl Bailey, the better, brighter, happier, more he feels. Then his parents start cutting all their worldly ties in to prepare for the Rush, the divine moment when the faithful will be whisked off to Heaven...and they want David to do the same. David's torn. There's a big difference between living in the moment and giving up his best friend, varsity baseball, and Bailey--especially Bailey--in hope of salvation. But when he comes home late from prom, and late for the Rush, to find that his parents have vanished, David is in more trouble than he ever could have imagined.
The Running Dream
By Draanen, Wendelin Van
Winner of the 2012 Schneider Family Book AwardJessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. Shes not comforted by the news that shell be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who dont know what to say, act like shes not there. Which she could handle better if she werent now keenly aware that shed done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math shes missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again.