Some show us the world with quiet force. Others yell. There is anger in these pages, as well as love. There is clarity, as well as confusion. And there is hope. Hope that things can sometimes be fixed. Hope that eventually high school will end, Hope that a new generation of writers can use their quiet and their noise to make an undeniable mark. Listen to what they have to say -- and see what they can do.

    Four events. And only one gold medal. Floor routine. Uneven bars. Vault. And balance beam. 90 seconds. 75 seconds. 7 seconds. 90 seconds.In gymnastics, your best friends are your biggest rivals. And the Bellevue Kips are feeling the pressure. Everyone wants to win best all-around gymnast at Optionals and State finals, but only one girl goes home with gold. Who will it be? Nadia: Gymnastics royalty. Beam is her event. Gold is in her DNA. But how far is she willing to go to win?Bethany: Best on floor. Worst on vault. Does Bethany’s height spell gymnastics doom? Sara: They used to call her Tree Frog. Now, she’s too scared to tumble backwards. Can she get it together in time to compete?Kelley: Gymnast. Soccer Star. And ballerina. The time has come to choose her sport. What is she willing to sacrifice to win?Jamie: The new girl and the squad’s biggest mystery. Will she crumble under pressure? Or will she give them all a run for their money? The countdown to competition has begun. Will it make them? Or break them?

    Erin Easter, raised by a neglectful single mom, keeps to herself and admires Weston Gates from afar. The other Erins, Erin A. and Erin M. are the darlings of the community: daughters of the two wealthiest families in town, best friends, cheerleaders, and everything Erin Easter isn't--and they never let her forget it. Erin A. has even claimed Weston since the 8th grade.Weston is a well-liked star athlete, and the son of two prominent attorneys. He struggles daily with the pressures of living up to his family name and secretly empathizes with Erin Easter's feeling that she belongs somewhere else; in a different life. Not until he begins sneaking nights out with Erin does he gain the courage to buck expectations and acknowledge his feelings ... both for his future, and for her.But when a shocking tragedy rocks the tiny town, Erin's life is turned upside down in the best way possible. But when the truth is revealed and everything Erin thinks she wanted falls into her lap, life only becomes more complicated.

    Unfortunately, she isn’t aware that her brother-in-law, an all-pro defensive lineman, has already offered the use of the cabin to his friend and former teammate, Ryan Landry, the drop-dead gorgeous NFL superstar she’s had a not-so-secret crush on since she was a teenager. As luck would have it, he is also the same man who rebuffed her youthful advances four years earlier, after she ineptly attempted to seduce him in one of the most humiliating moments of her life, and much to her dismay, the same man who can still start her heart racing with only a smile.Temporarily sidelined from his position as one of the most-celebrated wide receivers in the NFL due to a mild concussion, Ryan Landry eagerly accepted his close friend Wade Calloway’s offer to rest and recuperate at his cabin in the Rocky Mountains, unaware that he wouldn’t be the only one making use of the luxurious retreat. But when Wade’s sister-in-law, the lovely Brooklyn Foster arrives unexpectedly, he can’t deny that spending the next week with the tempting young beauty holds a great deal more appeal than it should. And all too soon, and despite the warning bells ringing in his head, Ryan realizes that keeping his hands off of his temporary roommate isn’t going to be easy, for it is glaringly apparent that Brooklyn in no longer the off-limits, precocious teenager she once was.Locked away from the outside world by a fierce winter blizzard, their passion for one another can no longer be denied and soon eclipses even the furious storm raging outside, leaving them both wondering what the future holds once they leave their perfect mountain hideaway.This is a novella (short story).

    In Iowa, that ideal survives in the form of high school wrestling, a way of transforming the local virtues—modesty, privation, hard work—into sporting glory. To be a wrestling champion in Iowa is to achieve greatness—individual glory where the only back to pat is your own.For Jay Borschel and Dan LeClere, though, the stakes have been raised. Already three-time state champions in differing weight classes, each boy has a chance in his senior year of high school to do something historic—to become a "four-timer," joining the most elite group in the sport and essentially ensuring his status as an Iowa wrestling deity. For Jay, a ferocious competitor who feeds off criticism and doubt, a victory would mean vindication over the great mass of skeptics waiting for him to fail. Dan, the kid from a farm near the tiny town of Coggon (population 710), carries other burdens. For his community, for the hard-driving coach who doubles as his father, and for his own triumph over his personal demons, another title is the only acceptable outcome.As the two boys approach the finals in a series of increasingly tense and hard-fought matches, Jay and Dan reveal the forces that drive young men through a grueling routine of early-morning and late-night workouts, social isolation, and starvation diets—and the rewards of the wrestling life. But in the finals, a victory is the only answer; blow that chance at a fourth title, before the fanatical crowds at the giant state tournament in Des Moines, and you will be little noted nor long remembered.Four Days to Glory is the story of America as told through its small towns and their connection to sport, the way it was once routinely perceived—a way of mattering to the folks next door.

    Kidnapped, beaten and starved, Buck becomes a legend when he is shipped to the snowy northern goldfields to work as a sled dog.Buck's companions have become almost as famous. There's Spitz, the dog that Buck must fight for the leadership of the pack, the one-eyed Sol-leks, the tragic Curly, Dave, Joe, Pike, Dub and Dolly. And there's John Thornton, the new master who Buck comes to love.Yet Buck knows that one day he must leave the human world, for his ancestors are telling him to answer the call of the wild.

    A boy with a golden arm but no money for lessons. A mother who wants to give her son his dream before she dies. A broken down World Series pitcher who cannot go on after the death of his wife. These are the elements of The Pitcher. A story of a man at the end of his dream and a boy whose dream is to make his high school baseball team. In the tradition of The Natural and The Field of Dreams, this is a mythic story about how a man and a boy meet in the crossroads of their life and find a way to go on. You will laugh and you will cry as The Pitcher and Ricky prepare for the ultimate try out of life.

    Grey struggles to fit in to his new school and environment until his new friend, Akil, introduces him to the enigmatic Kurtis, the leader of a group that uses high-octane sports as a form of social activism. By challenging the police with death-defying stunts and then posting videos of them online, Kurtis, Grey, and their group become unlikely heroes in the fight against the prejudice that surrounds them. As Kurtis takes Grey under his wing, they come up with a name, an insignia and attract more and more followers to their extreme acts. The lines between social activism and criminal behavior blur and their escalating stunts become a rallying point for the underprivileged and disenfranchised around the country, spreading like wildfire across the Internet. How far will Grey and Kurtis go to push their message, and can their fragile alliance withstand their growing power?

    If you enjoy running and reading, you'll want this book."—David Meyers, Running JournalThe best writers in the sport of running describe the last frontier of long-distance events: races longer than a marathon.James Shapiro begins by relating with heart-rending detail his experiences in a six-day race in "Swifts on the Wing." In "To the Limit and Beyond," Kenny Moore takes you through the Great Hawaiian Footrace, a horrendous six-day ordeal that seemingly changes his life. Don Kardong, one of the wittiest and most personable writers in the sport, in "Le Grizz" goes the fifty-mile distance at the infamous race. Ed Ayres, former editor of Running Times, takes on the Western States 100 in "Wings of Icarus," and the event turns out to be a kind of catharsis in his life. In "Road Warriors," Hal Higdon's report on his group's attempt to run across the state of Indiana is a lighthearted, self-imposed challenge that turns into a spiritual odyssey. Tom Hart attempts to run a solo thirty-seven-miler on his thirty-seventh birthday, which reveals that an ultra is more than a feat of endurance, it is a journey into self. John L. Parker, Jr. ends with "And Then the Vulture Eats You," an uproarious analysis of ultra runners.A book for all ultra runners, and for curious "normal" runners.

    NA

    And tonight she’s going to be there.Lisa Matthews anticipates the return of her best friend and only love since kindergarten from soccer camp. But when Tony finally shows up, his mind is more focused on another girl. And worse, she’s a soccer player. Fighting for the attention Lisa craves, she’s just a hairbreadth away from making a very stupid decision. But when extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, she’s prepared to play ball to get her man.The tryouts are hell, the first match ends bloody, and the morning after the selection party she wakes up in the worst place possible—in the arms of the captain of the soccer team. The hottest guy in school… Ryan Hunter.

    When Garth, an accomplished diver, shows an interest in her, Beverly is ecstatic, until it turns out Garth is only interested in one thing. Struggling with failing strength from her self-imposed starvation diet, Beverly finds herself in deep trouble when she has to fight Garth off underwater.Also available in Spanish.

    But what good is all that heat when he can't seem to find the plate? With Robbie struggling, the Orioles are suffering through a nightmare season, still looking for their first win. Robbie's teammates are whispering that the only reason he's even pitching is because he's the coach's kid. They've even given him a new nickname: Ball Four. What the other Orioles don't know is that Robbie is still haunted by a fastball that got away from him and injured a batter in last year's All-Star Game. Now, with the pressure mounting, he's willing to try anything to get his control back, including listening to a mysterious boy who just might hold the key to helping Robbie and the Orioles save their season. This third action-packed book in Cal Ripken Jr.'s All-Star series will have readers on the edge of their seats as they root for Robbie's comeback.

    The result? Razor-sharp, rapid-fire, and raunchy, of course. And beyond hilarious.Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time — quite a challenge, given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date. But catching a girl in the buff starts to look easy compared to Matt's other summertime aspiration: to swim the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) as a way to impress Kelly West, the sizzling new star of the swim team. In the spirit of Hollywood’s blockbuster comedies, screenwriter-turned-YA-novelist Don Calame unleashes a true ode to the adolescent male: characters who are side-splittingly funny, sometimes crude, yet always full of heart.

    This was written to be a FREE gift to any Fallen Crest readers! And with that said, Happy Holidays from Tijan. (If it is not free, please refrain from purchasing. I am working on making it free.)