Webb wakes up in the hospital, his leg shattered and his future as a runner in doubt. He can't remember anything about that day, but he learns: Grandpa was driving. The car hit a little girl. She's in a coma, and she might never walk again.Weeks later, Webber remembers: He was driving."You're fifteen," Grandpa says. "You have your whole life ahead of you. Let me take care of everything. I'm to blame. I'm the one to go to jail. Webber," he begs, "forget it." But how can Webber forget? He was driving.

    Soon they're having weekly poetry sessions and, one by one, the eighteen students are opening up and taking on the risky challenge of self-revelation. There's Lupe Alvarin, desperate to have a baby so she will feel loved. Raynard Patterson, hiding a secret behind his silence. Porscha Johnson, needing an outlet for her anger after her mother OD's. Through the poetry they share and narratives in which they reveal their most intimate thoughts about themselves and one another, their words and lives show what lies beneath the skin, behind the eyes, beyond the masquerade.

    But she's also skinny and gets pushed around on the court. Her older sister, Callie, is a freshman on varsity cheerleading, but she's not quite light enough to be a flier - her coveted position. Both girls need to boost their level of competition to get off the bench and into the action. When steroids are found in Savvy's gym bag, she claims they are not hers. Suddenly, accusations are flying and nobody knows who is telling the truth. When it comes to competitive sports, no one is exempt from being offered a boost.

    . . . Both lyrical and gripping." — KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)When Paul Faustino of LA NACION flips on his tape recorder for an exclusive interview with El Gato — the phenomenal goalkeeper who single-handedly brought his team the World Cup — the seasoned reporter quickly learns that this will be no ordinary story. Instead, the legendary El Gato narrates a spellbinding tale that begins in the South American rainforest, where a ghostly but very real mentor, the Keeper, emerges to teach a poor, gawky boy the most thrilling secrets of the game. A seamless blend of magic realism and exhilarating soccer action, this evocative novel will haunt readers long after the story ends.

    About how I had to choose between solving his murder with his hot sister, Reya, and “staying low-key” like the Program has taught me. About how moving to Stepon changed my life forever.But I’m going to.

    His white father has acknowledged him and raised him openly—something unusual in post-Civil War Georgia. But as he grows into a man he learns that life for someone like him is not easy. Black people distrust him because he looks white. White people discriminate against him when they learn of his black heritage. Even within his own family he faces betrayal and degradation. So at the age of fourteen, he sets out toward the only dream he has ever had: to find land every bit as good as his father's, and make it his own. Once again inspired by her own history, Ms. Taylor brings truth and power to the newest addition to the award-winning Logan family stories.

    Spooner thinks she's one of the world's more promising cellists. The world thinks so too. Given up by her mother on the day she was born, she believes she has almost raised herself--with just a bit of guidance from her unconventional father, Taxi. When Sib finally asks Taxi to take her to meet her mother for the first time, she knows it might mean breaking away from the man who has raised her. Finding your own path often means leaving those you love, and Sib is willing to take the risk. Yet as she and her dad wind their way across the country to San Francisco, Sib discovers she may not be as "self-made" as she thought. And as she learns more about the man she thought she knew, she finds out it's not simply her music that makes her special, but also the love from the parent she might have to leave behind.1986 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)1987 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)Best Books of 1986 (SLJ)Best of the 80's (BL)Young Adult Choices for 1988 (IRA)1987 Teachers' Choices (IRA)1987 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)Best of the 80's (English Journal)

    I've got everything and he's got nothing. I'm a three-year, three-sport letterman and Shawn can't even stand up! Like I said, sick, huh?It's hard to be a brother to someone who doesn't even know you're there. How can you talk to him when he can't understand a thing you say? How can you listen to him when he can't speak a word? How can you love him when he's so messed up, he can't love you back? And how can you have a life of your own when your father bailed on the family, leaving you to be the "man of the house"?Fueled by rage at what has happened to his family, Paul is ready to explode. And he is haunted by something even worse—something he can never tell anyone. It is something he will have to face if he is to have any hope of a future at all. While Cruise Control is a companion to Terry Trueman's Printz Honor book, Stuck in Neutral, it is the completely independent story of a family's "other" son—the one who is healthy, gifted, normal. It is a courageously hopeful story told with power, compassion, and humor.

    She's not comforted by the news that she'll 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 don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's 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. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award

    Kate manages her life by organizing it as logically as the periodic table. She can handle it all—or so she thinks. Then, things change as suddenly as a string of chemical reactions; first, the Malones' neighbors get burned out of their own home and move in. Kate has to share her room with her nemesis, Teri Litch, and Teri's little brother. The days are ticking down and she's still waiting to hear from the only college she applied to: MIT. Kate feels that her life is spinning out of her control—and then, something happens that truly blows it all apart. Set in the same community as the remarkable Speak, Catalyst is a novel that will change the way you look at the world.

    This unforgettable novel tells a universal coming-of-age story about Taja Brown, a young African American girl growing up in Houston, Texas, and deftly and beautifully explores the universal struggles of growing up, battling family expectations, discovering a sense of self, and finding a unique voice and purpose.Told in fifty-three short, episodic, moving, and iridescent chapters, Calling My Name follows Taja on her journey from middle school to high school.

    but tonight we all SLAY' Black Panther meets Ready Player One. A fierce teen game developer battles a real-life troll intent on ruining the Black Panther-inspired video game she created and the safe community it represents for black gamers. By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is a college student, and one of the only black kids at Jefferson Academy. By night, she joins hundreds of thousands of black gamers who duel worldwide in the secret online role-playing card game, SLAY.No one knows Kiera is the game developer - not even her boyfriend, Malcolm. But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, the media labels it an exclusionist, racist hub for thugs.With threats coming from both inside and outside the game, Kiera must fight to save the safe space she's created. But can she protect SLAY without losing herself?

     It's not that I'm boy crazy.It's just that even thoughI'm almost fifteenit's likemy mindand my bodyand my heartjust don't seem to be able to agree on anything.

    It's as clear as the plains that lead to La Junta and the first-place prize at the rodeo. He will become a man, a cowboy with a life of his own. But his twin brother, Denny, follows, bringing with him the memory of that small white scar. Ahead lies adventure; behind, responsibility. And on the road between, Will and Denny will travel together -- brothers united by blood.

    He’s got a sweet summer job, lots of love from the ladies, and parties with his high school buddies. Why does he need to go to college?Then Tim falls hard for Helena—a worldly and mysterious twenty-two year-old. Their relationship opens his eyes to life outside the small town of Mattoon, Illinois. Now Tim has to choose: Will he settle for being a small town hero, or will he leave it all behind to follow his dreams?