High School Reads!

by Kwame Alexander Lexile:  660 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Novel in Verse Nick Hall is unstoppable on the soccer field so don't even bother to try.  He and his friend Coby have big plans to get to the World Cup and show the world what awesome soccer players they are.  But then Nick's world is shattered when his parents announce that they are separating.  His mom moves to Kentucky to continue a career she had put on hold, and now nothing is the same.  Can he figure out how to successfully navigate this change in his life?

by Fredrick McKissack, Jr. Lexile:  720 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Jomo Rodgers wants to be the best...the biggest and the fastest football player on the team.  His best friend Jayson seemingly has it all and is on pace to become a team leader of the varsity squad. Jomo's coach lectures him about his commitment to football at the end of the season and Jomo promises to try harder by working out more so that he can grow bigger and faster.  But he is afraid that it won't be enough to compete with superstars like Jayson.  Jomo has heard about players who take supplements and steroids.  Would that be the right choice for him?

by Chris Crutcher Lexile:  870 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Sports Willie was a superstar baseball player.  He was the hometown hero after the outcome of the Crazy Horse Electric Game.  But then he was injured in a boating accident and his whole world changed. Suddenly he could no longer compete as an athlete, connect with his friends and girlfriend, and his relationship with his parents becomes strained.  Willie decides that the only pathway left for him is to head out of town to see if he can make a new life for himself, away from the people who knew him as a superstar athlete.

by David and Perri Klass Lexile:  980 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Sports Football is everything in Kendall, New Jersey and when you're the quarterback, the community spotlight is constantly on your every move.  Jerry Downing is that quarterback and is about to complete his senior season.  His football team is expected to go all the way to state, if he has his best friend, Danny, can keep the team on a winning path.  As a senior, Jerry also gets involved with blogging for the school newspaper.  He joins Carla, another senior reporter, in covering all the news - both on and off the field - of the football season.  Jerry takes a hard hit during one game and is forced to sit out due to a possible concussion.  This turn of events prompts Carla to begin to do some research in the area of head injuries in sports.  What begins as an innocent story, will have serious consequences for Carla and the other students at Kendall High School.

by Carl Deuker Lexile:  710 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Mick Johnson is destined to be an all star high school football standout.  His father is a former NFL player with high hopes for his son so Mick is feeling pressure to achieve both on and off the field. Mick is anxious to get stronger, run faster, and score more points as a running back for the team.  His current workouts don't seem to be getting him the results he wants.  When his dad introduces him to a trainer at the new gym in town, the trainer introduces him to another option:  gym candy.  Mick will have to decide which path he will take to achieve the goals he has set for himself.