Josh's dad, and pretty much everyone else, calls him Filthy McNasty because of his skills on the basketball court. Only two people can come close: his twin brother JB and their dad.
But just as their team is poised to take the championship, things start to go wrong. Josh and JB have always been best friends, but now JB has a crush on the new girl Alexis. Miss Sweet Tea may be cute and a baller, but it's not easy for someone else to take the number one spot away from Josh.
Josh's dad used to be a professional player in the Euroleague until his hurt his knee. His career could have continued if he's had knee surgery, but he has always been opposed to doctors. The same is true now that he's had fainting spells and shortness of breath. Heart problems run in the family, but "da man" can't be brought down so easily. The fried chicken and donuts don't help.
All of this is driving Josh a little crazy, and he lashes out at JB at a game. Can these two brothers ever repair their relationship, or is this the end of a beautiful friendship?
I loved Kwame Alexander's story of basketball and family told in verse format.
Jake Cullen has grown up in the shadow of his family's football legacy in small town Texas. His older brother, Wyatt, was the star of the Granger High School team for four years and is the starting quarterback at UT as a freshman this year. Their father Troy was a high school and college star who even played in the NFL for a while until one last concussion forced him to quit and come home to Granger to run the family cattle ranch.
Jake feels like no one really sees him for who he is, including his father. Troy Cullen barely even notices his younger son with all the excitement and drama going on in Austin with Wyatt.
Jake has other battles to fight as a freshman on his high school team. He's the third string QB after a senior who's been waiting in line behind Wyatt for his chance to play and a transfer student who isn't willing to be backup to a freshman. An injury in the first game of the season turns things into a QB battle. Jake has talent, but he doesn't believe in himself. He's a good teammate who wants to win but not at the expense of the team rapport.
Will Jake be able to step into the limelight and get his father to finally notice him? Read Mike Lupica's new book about football in small town Texas to find out.
Theo's sudden growth spurt has left him feeling awkward and clumsy, but his middle school basketball coach sees potential. For a kid whose best friend is a chubby Jewish dude from the Brain Train team, this is a big adjustment. He may be tall, but he's never played basketball or even talked to the guys from the team before. Plus, all that time spent on basketball is jeopardizing his place on Brain Train!
There's a new girl in school named Rain who is driving him crazy, but he's not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. When he sees some guy on a motorcycle hit her at the park, Theo knows he has to do something.
Don't forget about his crazy cousin Gavin who'd rather put Theo in a headlock than look at him.
To make matters worse, he's pretty sure his dad has started online dating! What?!
Things are getting pretty complicated for Theo. Will he be able to figure out what he really wants and make it happen? Read the book by former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to find out!
Terrell Jamerson is the number one high school basketball player in the country, and everyone knows it. His life is a constant stream of people trying to get on his good side in the hopes of getting a piece of the pie when Terrell goes pro. The NCAA rules don't really seem to matter to any of these guys. Shoe companies, agents, even some guys Terrell thought were friends all want in on the action.
His best friend and teammate Danny Wilcox hates those guys; he calls them the super friends. He tells Terrell that if he gives in to the pressure those guys will own him. Danny's dad, who also happens to be their coach, agrees.
This book follows Terrell and Danny as they try to navigate the murky waters of college recruitment through the summer and their senior year in high school. The longer Terrell waits to make his decision, the sweeter the deals will get. What will Terrell decide? John Feinstein will have you on the edge of your seat waiting for Terrell's decision in his latest book!
Drew "True" Robinson is already a star, and he's headed for NBA. Everyone knows it including the ultra rich Seth Gilbert who "discovered" Drew playing street ball in New York and moved him and his mom to California complete with a private school, a house, and a job for his mom. But Darlene Robinson isn't buying all the hype; she knows Gilbert wants to be the man next to man.
Even Drew's best friend covers for him in school making sure his grades are high enough and giving him rides. And his high school coach leaves pretty much everything up to Drew from practice schedules to plays on the court.
The problem is Drew is starting to believe the hype. Why should he worry about school when it's just a stepping stone to the NBA? Why should he worry about being a team player when everyone knows he's the real star?
One night Drew will meet someone on the playground who will force him to face reality, to see the truth of what his life has become. Is it too late for Drew to become the real "True" Robinson?
Read Mike Lupica's latest sports story about living with integrity, especially when you're a star.
Ben McBain is the guy you want on your team! He can be a star in any position, but he really wants to play quarter back. For Ben it's not about being a star player (even though he is one); it's about being part of a team and being loyal to your friends. Despite all this, he can't ever get his coach's attention. No matter how great his tryout is, all they can see is his size. Ben may have his dad's football skills, but he inherited his mother's size.
This year won't be any different now that his new coach also happens to be the father of the other guy trying out for quarter back. Ben isn't really surprised when Shawn gets the quarter back position again even though his last season was really uneven. After all, his dad is the coach and a former pro quarter back. But Shawn has a bad attitude and holds himself apart from the team.
When Shawn chokes at the first few games, Ben's dreams of a winning season are challenged. Despite his frustrations, Ben decides to help Shawn for the good of the team. Ben may be loyal to Shawn and the team, but will be Shawn be loyal to Ben when it counts? And will the Rams be able to pull off a winning season after all?
This is the first book in a new series by one of our favorite sports writers, Mike Lupica, so there will be more to come from Ben and his friends!
Josh is the new kid at Grant Middle School, but things are starting off pretty well. A reporter for the school paper (who happens to be a cute girl who knows a lot about sports) has written an article praising his baseball talents and predicting a winning season. He even has a best friend, Benji.
Unfortunately, he also has an enemy who is bigger and stronger and who thinks Josh is trying to steal his girlfriend. And he's about to get a lot more enemies when his dad gets him a place on Rocky Valentine's U14 travel team. Josh wants to play with his friends, but his dad thinks this is his best chance for a future career in the majors. Plus Rocky Valentine gave him a job, too.
The Titans are scary big and intense. Josh is intimidated and exhausted, but Rocky's supplements and workouts are making him stronger.
When a member of the team offers him something than the supplements to improve his game and the team's prospects, Josh is in a difficult position. He doesn't want to risk his health, but he doesn't want to get his father in trouble, too.
Josh and his friends will have to rely on each to find the truth against an enemy more dangerous than any they've faced before.
Read the latest book from Tim Green for a story packed with sports, mystery, and danger!
Watch the video below to hear Tim Green talk about what makes a good story.
Sportswriter, Mike Lupica, is back with another great football story. Will Tyler loves football; he's the fastest kid in Forbes, and running down a football field to make the winning play is the best feeling in the world.
The problem is that everything and everyone in Forbes, Pennsylvania, is running down and losing hope. They can't even fund the city youth football teams this year, but will refuses to give up hope. The neighboring town, Castle Rock, beat Will's team by a slim margin last year, and Will blames himself for the loss.
Now he's got a plan to find an unlikely financial backer for the team, but he still has to get enough players to field a team. Can Will and his Underdogs inspire themselves and a town that's down on it's luck to believe again?
This is a great story with plenty of play by play football action! If you enjoy this book, try one of Mike Lupica's other books.
This is the newest book by Jordan Sonnenblick, author of Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie and other fabulous books. Curveball has the same energy and tone as the others as Sonnenblick's characters face life's disasters with humor and sensitivity.
Peter Friedman loves baseball. He and his best friend AJ have been pitching and catching on the same team since they were kids, but just as they are on the cusp of what they know will be their brilliant high school careers, Peter faces a devastating injury that will impact his ability to play baseball forever.
But he does have one more thing going for him, photography. Peter's grandfather has been sharing his love of photography with him his whole life, and the two are close friends beyond the lens. One day on a photography trip something strange happens to Gramps. It's like he's just gone for a few minutes, and things get worse from there.
So instead of starting high school on a high Peter is beginning with the specter of his injury and his worries about Gramps hanging over him.
Even with all this, there is Angelika, the really cute girl who keeps flirting with him and the hope of something other than baseball to love.
Will Peter be able to handle life's curveball, or will completely lose his grip? Read the book to find out!
OK, I am cheating a little with this one since it won't be published until September, but I liked it so much, I had to go ahead and write about it! :)
This is a picture of the author, Tim Green, signing the book at TLA. My friend and I were first in line (who wouldn't want to meet this guy) to meet him and get the books signed. (One of you will win the very copy he is holding at the Biggest Reader party!)
We chatted with him for a few minutes, and he asked us to make sure we read the letter in the front cover of the book. Green writes about his wife's battle with cancer and how cancer survivors, not athletes, are the real heroes. What an inspiration! Look for more news on Unstoppable next fall as it will figure prominently in our library activities. (I won't tell you how just yet, but it is going to be awesome!)
Harrison has been in a string of foster homes for years. He has a bad rap for being aggressive, but that is only because he is trying to protect the other kids. Life on the Constable farm is one of the worst so far. The Constables are cold and demanding, and Harrison's life is filled with hard work and anger. He is starting to believe that nothing good will ever happen to him.
When a traumatic event strikes the farm, Harrison's life changes for the better. He gets new foster parents who seem to really care about him, and his new foster father is the coach of the middle school football team. Harrison loves football, but he's never been able to play. Once he gets a shot on the field, everyone is amazed at his determination. Harrison is unstoppable!
Now life seems too good to be true: family, friends, football. Harrison can't shake the nagging fear that everything is about to go wrong like it always does. Will this new struggle be too much, or will Harrison remain unstoppable?
This book isn't out yet, so there isn't a trailer, but here is a video of Tim Green talking about writing, reading, and one of his other books.
Mac is a kid who can make things happen. If you have a problem, he's the guy who can fix it...with the help of his best friend, Vince, of course. Together they are the secret rulers of the school from their office in an unused, out of the way bathroom. They use their profits to expand the business and to feed the Game Fund in hopes that maybe this year the Cubs will make it to the World Series.
Things are going great for Mac. There's a line of kids outside his office everyday clamoring for his services. If they can't pay with case, there is always the favor option, or for real hard luck cases, Mac might do the work pro bono.
Things are great, that is, until a third grader named Fred shows up with a story about gambling debts and the biggest bully in town, a bully so big that kids have been telling stories about him forever, so big that Mac always sort of believed he was just a story, a horror story, but no one to really worry about. But Fred insists that Staples is real and that he is running an extensive gambling ring on Mac's turf.
Mac knows this case will be tough, but he has no idea how bad things will eventually get. Maybe he's not as smart as he thought. Maybe Staples really can take down his business and destroy his life.
What a great read! This book is part mafia saga, part hard boiling private detective story, and part middle school; it has action, suspense, baseball, and humor. You won't be able to put it down!
Mitch True dreams of becoming a famous reporter. He wants to uncover secrets, report the facts, and change the world with his investigative reporting.
So far senior year isn't going as planned. He didn't get elected to be the editor of the school paper. Instead it's Ashley, one of the worst writers on the staff. To make things worse, she's assigned Mitch the sports column! He is furious to be denied serious news in favor of sports.
But things aren't all bad. Mitch soon finds that his photographer will be Kimi, a cute and smart girl. Together they discover something strange going on with the football team. There's a new guy named Angel who is on of the best players Mitch has ever seen, but he's obviously holding back on the field, and the coach seems to hiding something, too.
As Kimi and Mitch dig into this mystery, things get more dangerous by the minute, and the facts just won't add up. Will Kimi and Mitch solve the mystery, become famous, and get accepted to exclusive colleges, or will they destroy themselves and others?
P.S. Deuker does a great job describing the football and volleyball games Mitch attends. If you're a sports fan, you'll love this one, but the mystery is so good the rest of us can enjoy it, too!
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