Mercy Rule by Tom Leveen
Danny's parents pulled him from the art school that let him wear a kilt and listen to bands that no one's heard of. Now he's starting sophomore year at the public high school, the one with the gymnasium at the heart of the building and the glorified athletes who rule it all. The smart thing would be to blend in, but Danny has always been about making statements.
Brady just wants out, go to college, play football, and maybe reach the NFL. He definitely wants to stop waiting for his deadbeat mother to come home, sleeping on park benches, and going to bed hungry. But first he has to lead the team to the championships. It all adds up to a lot of stress. So who can really blame him when he and the football team turn their aggression on the new freak? Even the quarterback needs to blow off steam sometimes.
Coach turns a blind eye to his players' crimes--because this year, they're going to States. But maybe if Coach had paid more attention they could've caught it before it all happened. Maybe it could've been avoided.
Danny's parents pulled him from the art school that let him wear a kilt and listen to bands that no one's heard of. Now he's starting sophomore year at the public high school, the one with the gymnasium at the heart of the building and the glorified athletes who rule it all. The smart thing would be to blend in, but Danny has always been about making statements.
Brady just wants out, go to college, play football, and maybe reach the NFL. He definitely wants to stop waiting for his deadbeat mother to come home, sleeping on park benches, and going to bed hungry. But first he has to lead the team to the championships. It all adds up to a lot of stress. So who can really blame him when he and the football team turn their aggression on the new freak? Even the quarterback needs to blow off steam sometimes.
Coach turns a blind eye to his players' crimes--because this year, they're going to States. But maybe if Coach had paid more attention they could've caught it before it all happened. Maybe it could've been avoided.
Hooper by Geoff Herbach
For Adam Reed, basketball is a passport. Adam’s basketball skills have taken him from an orphanage in Poland to a loving adoptive mother in Minnesota. When he’s tapped to play on a select AAU team along with some of the best players in the state, it just confirms that basketball is his ticket to the good life: to new friendships, to the girl of his dreams, to a better future. But life is more complicated off the court. When an incident with the police threatens to break apart the bonds Adam’s finally formed after a lifetime of struggle, he must make an impossible choice between his new family and the sport that’s given him everything.
For Adam Reed, basketball is a passport. Adam’s basketball skills have taken him from an orphanage in Poland to a loving adoptive mother in Minnesota. When he’s tapped to play on a select AAU team along with some of the best players in the state, it just confirms that basketball is his ticket to the good life: to new friendships, to the girl of his dreams, to a better future. But life is more complicated off the court. When an incident with the police threatens to break apart the bonds Adam’s finally formed after a lifetime of struggle, he must make an impossible choice between his new family and the sport that’s given him everything.
Loser's Bracket by Chris Crutcher
When it comes to family, Annie is in the losers bracket. Don’t get her wrong, her foster parents are great, even if Pop is a little too concerned about Annie getting an athletic scholarship. But Nancy, her birth mom, and her sister, Sheila, are . . . less than ideal. And no matter how hard Annie tries to stay away from them, she always gets sucked back in to their lives and their messes. She tells herself she’s doing it for Sheila’s son, Frankie, but she knows her issues with her birth family are more deeply rooted. Then a family argument at one of Annie’s swim meets escalates and Frankie goes missing. Annie can’t help but think that Frankie’s disappearance is her fault. With help from her new boyfriend, Tim, and her social service worker, Annie searches desperately for her missing nephew, determined to find him and finally get him in a safe home.
When it comes to family, Annie is in the losers bracket. Don’t get her wrong, her foster parents are great, even if Pop is a little too concerned about Annie getting an athletic scholarship. But Nancy, her birth mom, and her sister, Sheila, are . . . less than ideal. And no matter how hard Annie tries to stay away from them, she always gets sucked back in to their lives and their messes. She tells herself she’s doing it for Sheila’s son, Frankie, but she knows her issues with her birth family are more deeply rooted. Then a family argument at one of Annie’s swim meets escalates and Frankie goes missing. Annie can’t help but think that Frankie’s disappearance is her fault. With help from her new boyfriend, Tim, and her social service worker, Annie searches desperately for her missing nephew, determined to find him and finally get him in a safe home.