Thirteen-year-old Jonah is determined to prove that anxiety won't stop him from succeeding as his hockey team's goalie in this dynamic novel in verse.

What-ifs rattle around his brain at the worst times, like when he's in the middle of a playoff game. What if he lets his teammates down? What if he can't make it pro? And the biggest what-if of all, the one he keeps to himself -- what if he's like his dad, whose life is controlled by anxiety that has only gotten worse since Jonah's mom died in a car crash?

To prove that he's not like that, Jonah is determined to succeed in the high-stress role of goalie. He and his best friend Ty have big plans for their hockey futures. But when Ty suffers a medical crisis during a pivotal game, Jonah's anxiety ramps up to new levels

It takes courage to ask for help, but Jonah starts to realize that his team goes beyond the people who lace up their skates with him every week, and maybe it's okay to look for support on and off the ice.

From the adrenaline rush of sudden-death overtime to the weight of worrying about letting your teammates -- and yourself -- down, this novel in verse will hook readers from the first line.

Key Text Features

dialogue

poems

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3

Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.5

Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

Winner of the 2018 ALA Schneider Family Book Award, Middle Grade Books category

Sixth grade is coming to an end, and so is life as Macy McMillan knows it. Already a For Sale sign mars the front lawn of her beloved house. Soon her mother will upend their perfect little family, adding a stepfather and six-year-old twin stepsisters. To add insult to injury, what is Macy's final sixth grade assignment? A genealogy project. Well, she'll put it off - just like those wedding centerpieces she's supposed to be making.

Just when Macy's mother ought to be understanding, she sends Macy next door to help eighty six-year-old Iris Gillan, who is also getting ready to move - in her case into an assisted living facility. Iris can't pack a single box on her own and, worse, she doesn't know sign language. How is Macy supposed to understand her? But Iris has stories to tell, and she isn't going to let Macy's deafness stop her. Soon, through notes and books and cookies, a friendship grows. And this friendship, odd and unexpected, may be just what Macy needs to face the changes in her life.

Shari Green, author of Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles, writes this summer story with the lightest touch, spinning Macy out of her old story and into a new one full of warmth and promise for the future.

From award-winning verse novelist Shari Green comes an unforgettable story of friendship, first love, and an impossible choice between integrity and duty, family and friends, all while fighting for a dream.

Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a historical YA novel in verse that centers around a young pianist in East Germany trying to make sense of love, duty, and the pursuit of dreams during the unsettled months of protest that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s. Written in stunning lyrical verse, Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a story of hope, courage, romance, and the power of music not only to change lives, but to save them.

From award-winning verse novelist Shari Green comes an unforgettable story of friendship, first love, and an impossible choice between integrity and duty, family and friends, all while fighting for a dream.

Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a historical YA novel in verse that centers around a young pianist in East Germany trying to make sense of love, duty, and the pursuit of dreams during the unsettled months of protest that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s. Written in stunning lyrical verse, Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams is a story of hope, courage, romance, and the power of music not only to change lives, but to save them.

Tense, heartwarming, and masterful.--Kirkus Reviews

He's a rescue, a mutt. Maybe there's a little golden retriever in him, although he's not exactly pretty. He's had a run-in with coyotes and he's missing an eye. But Mike is eleven-year-old Cara Donovan's dog, and they love each other absolutely. Usually her pet follows Cara everywhere, but on the day the family first smells smoke in the air, Mike becomes anxious. Pine Grove is in the path of a wildfire, and the family is ordered to evacuate. In the ensuing chaos, Mike panics and runs off. And then the unthinkable happens; there is no time to search for Mike. They are forced to leave him behind.

Shocked and devastated, Cara watches helplessly as the family drives through a nightmare, with burning debris falling from the sky and wild animals fleeing for their lives. Once in the city far from the burn zone, the Donovans are housed with a volunteer host family. Jewel, the hosts' daughter, is nice, but Cara can only think about what she may have lost. What will happen if nothing is left? But as she reflects on what home means to her, Cara knows only one thing. She is not going to lose Mike. She will do what it takes to find him, even if it means going back to Pine Grove on her own.

With her signature style combining simplicity and lyricism, the author of Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles and Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess tells an uplifting story of love and loss. And she shows how one girl's stressful journey eventually leads her to an unexpected place, and a new definition of home.

Winner of the 2018 ALA Schneider Family Book Award, Middle Grade Books category

Sixth grade is coming to an end, and so is life as Macy McMillan knows it. Already a For Sale sign mars the front lawn of her beloved house. Soon her mother will upend their perfect little family, adding a stepfather and six-year-old twin stepsisters. To add insult to injury, what is Macy's final sixth grade assignment? A genealogy project. Well, she'll put it off - just like those wedding centerpieces she's supposed to be making.

Just when Macy's mother ought to be understanding, she sends Macy next door to help eighty six-year-old Iris Gillan, who is also getting ready to move - in her case into an assisted living facility. Iris can't pack a single box on her own and, worse, she doesn't know sign language. How is Macy supposed to understand her? But Iris has stories to tell, and she isn't going to let Macy's deafness stop her. Soon, through notes and books and cookies, a friendship grows. And this friendship, odd and unexpected, may be just what Macy needs to face the changes in her life.

Shari Green, author of Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles, writes this summer story with the lightest touch, spinning Macy out of her old story and into a new one full of warmth and promise for the future.

Written in light and lyrical free verse, Shari Green's debut novel about the hard and beautiful truths of growing up--and growing into one's own ability to shape the world--is now back in a new edition.

Eleven-year-old Bailey believes in miracles. She has to; it will take a miracle to keep her warring parents together. This summer they are at a Marriage Counselling camp, leaving Bailey and her little brother Kevin with their estranged grandmother in the island town of Felicity Bay. There Jasper, an eccentric deposed minister-turned-ice-cream-vendor, makes a prophecy that a stranger from the sea will change everything.

In bestselling author Shari Green's warm and wistful debut, Bailey's seaside summer is marked by powerful realizations about the strengths and weaknesses of all the people in her life...including herself. When the waves wash ashore a piece of driftwood that looks like a mermaid, Bailey begins to believe that the mermaid is the stranger from the sea. Does her appearance mean that things really will get better in Felicity Bay and in Bailey's family?

Searching for purpose. Self- Sabotaging. Struggling with spirituality. Childhood trauma. Loss of two children. Shari Green has experienced all those things, and she knows that so many of you have too. Now, she teaches you how to deal, heal, and develop inner peace in 30 days.

With her heartfelt true-life stories, bold faith, and H.E.A.L strategy, Shari teaches you how to practice managing your thoughts daily and to create a life you don't need to escape. This is a small book about big feelings, immense faith, and the powerful emotional resources you can access. You will see that light always outshines darkness and that a new day means a unique gift to live with inner peace.