Bestselling and award winning author Sherman Alexie tells the hearbreaking yet funny story about a boy living on the Spokane Indian Reservation who wants to break free of the life he was destined to live.

Junior is a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, based on the author's own experiences and coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

Beloved, award-winning author Carl Deuker serves up another fast-paced sports novel--this one about basketball and friendship.

Nate plays soccer, but he doesn't love it. He plays because it's what his family expects.

Then Lucas Cawley moves in across the street. Lucas isn't like any of Nate's sports friends--he's poor, his parents are mostly absent, and he's devoted to his sister, Megan, who has a learning disability. Lucas may be an outcast at school, but he and Nate find common ground in their fierce games of one-on-one basketball.

It's not long before Nate realizes that basketball is his sport. But Nate has an ax to grind with star players Colin and Bo, who have disrespected him for years. Nate believes that outplaying those two is the most important thing . . . until he learns that life is about more than getting ready for the next game.

Belongs on the shelf alongside contemporary heavy-hitters like Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give, Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds's All-American Boys, and Nic Stone's Dear Martin. --School Library Journal, starred review

Bunny and Nasir have been best friends forever, but when Bunny accepts an athletic scholarship across town, Nasir feels betrayed. While Bunny tries to fit in with his new, privileged peers, Nasir spends more time with his cousin, Wallace, who is being evicted. Nasir can't help but wonder why the neighborhood is falling over itself to help Bunny when Wallace is in trouble.

When Wallace makes a bet against Bunny, Nasir is faced with an impossible decision--maybe a dangerous one.

Told from alternating perspectives, After the Shot Drops is a heart-pounding story about the responsibilities of great talent and the importance of compassion.

Basketball has always been an escape for Finley. He lives in broken-down Bellmont, a town ruled by the Irish mob, drugs, violence, and racially charged rivalries. At home, his dad works nights, and Finley is left to take care of his disabled grandfather alone. He's always dreamed of getting out someday, but until he can, putting on that number 21 jersey makes everything seem okay.

Russ has just moved to the neighborhood, and the life of this teen basketball phenom has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he won't pick up a basketball, but answers only to the name Boy21--taken from his former jersey number.

As their final year of high school brings these two boys together, a unique friendship may turn out to be the answer they both need.

A People Kid Pick of the week

From the mind of basketball legend and Academy Award-winning storyteller Kobe Bryant comes this radically original portrait of five young basketball players, one enlightening coach, and the awesome transformative power of the game. Filled with insights about the mental stamina and emotional clarity that peak performance requires, this is an indispensable story for young athletes, coaches, educators, and anyone interested in the astonishing potential of team sports to unlock individual growth.

THE GAME WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Magic doesn't seem possible for the West Bottom Badgers. They're the lowest-ranked basketball team in their league, and they live in the poorest neighborhood in Dren. Nobody expects them to succeed at anything. Plus, every kid on the team has secret struggles of his own.
When a new coach named Professor Wizenard arrives on the first day of training camp, the Badgers can't explain the magical-seeming things they see and hear. Every player experiences unique and strange visions--visions that challenge everything they thought they knew about basketball, and about their lives and their secrets off the court. To survive the increasingly intense ordeals of training, the Badgers will need to take unimaginable risks, learn to trust their teammates, and confront the darkness within themselves.

Udoka Clendon is a first-year university student and a product of basketball systems that have produced professional players.

He's been pushed relentlessly by the obsessive mentorship of his older brother, which has been tolerated by his hard-working single mother. For years his brother has taken him to tournaments and pushed him to succeed on the outdoor courts of the west end.

Burdened by expectations and self-doubt, Udoka tries to reignite his passion for the game. Now, he's been given a final opportunity at the city-wide tournament to rediscover his confidence and his sense of purpose--all of which he fears he has lost forever.

With the clarity and poetic style of a seasoned writer, and drawing on his own time as an elite sports prospect, Jawara Pedican shows the trials and traumas of becoming fixated on a dream of sports stardom.

From the bestselling author of Shoot Your Shot comes the inspirational story of a young man's quest to reach the highest level of basketball, despite the odds stacked against him. Beyond the Arc is captivating tale about the power of preparation and persistence, and the importance of embracing one's journey.

Like every young hoop dreamer, twenty-one-year-old DJ Joyner has always aspired to play in the National Basketball Association. But despite having had a standout collegiate career, the six-foot-one point guard goes unselected in the NBA Draft. Unwilling to give up on his lifelong dream of making it to the League, a week after the draft, DJ heads to Las Vegas to compete in the NBA's Summer League showcase for the chance to earn his way onto a team's roster.

While in Vegas, DJ is approached by a mysterious man named Marion Lake-a low-profile, referral-only player development coach. Nicknamed The Invisible Hand for his ability to impact the trajectory of a player's career, Marion explains that he has been hired by an anonymous benefactor to train DJ, and that he's legally obligated to do so until the point guard signs an NBA contract. Though skeptical at first, DJ eventually accepts Marion's offer.

Now, under the tutelage of basketball's best-kept secret, DJ attempts to not only make the improbable leap to the NBA as an undrafted rookie, but seeks to leave his mark on the court if and when his name finally gets called. However, what starts out as a quest to realize a childhood dream soon evolves into a journey of self-discovery that transcends the game of basketball.

From Geoff Herbach, the critically acclaimed author of the Stupid Fast series, comes a compelling new YA novel about basketball, prejudice, privilege, and family, perfect for fans of Jordan Sonnenblick, Andrew Smith, and Matt de la Pe a.

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.

Nick Abbott and Trent Dawson have nothing in common but basketball. Or so it seems. But as the basketball season progresses, their lives become unexpectedly intertwined. In this story of an unlikely bond, award-winning author Carl Deuker explores that dark and confusing place between loneliness and friendship, between faithfulness and betrayal. Filled with gripping game play, the novel will leave readers wondering how much they themselves would reach out to a kid like Trent.

Murph knows he's talented enough for the varsity basketball squad along with his twin brother. So why is he still stuck playing on the JV team? When a varsity player is injured, Murph finally gets the chance to move up. Now it's up to Murph to figure out how to keep his spot and prove to the team that he deserves it.

School, homework, and basketball keep Tomás pretty busy. On top of everything, his dad is in the hospital, and it might be serious. It isn't long before the pressure gets to be too much for Tomás and starts to affect his health. Will he be able to find a balance . . . and do it before his basketball season is in jeopardy?

Things have lined up perfectly for Kaita's senior year at Hoops Academy. She's the varsity team captain and finally gets to wear her lucky number. But her jersey keeps going missing. Soon multiple items disappear from the locker room. Players on the team point fingers at each other. It's up to Kaita to solve the mystery before it tears the team apart.

BJ's mother is short.Mom is an abstract painter who runs an arty cafe. BJ, however, takes after her missing father. Just twenty-one, she's a college basketball player who lives and breathes the game. High tops and hoops occupy her every waking moment. When she accidentally discovers her dad, a shadowy presence throughout her whole life, she suspects her best friends may actually be closer than she thinks--are they her sisters? Maybe there is more family she's never met! BJ just wants to keep her mind on the game.

Freshman year basketball at Hoops Academy is not going according to Trey Mojo Michaels' plan. Sure, he's the team captain, but they have yet to win a single game! Desperate to win, Mojo goes out in search of the team's old coach who led them to many victories. Mojo is convinced that if anyone can help the team to start winning it's Coach Kit. But the reclusive man instead ropes Mojo into a geocaching scavenger hunt that takes them all across the city. The lessons he learns are unexpected and couldn't possibly help the team, could they?

Nadia is thrilled that she made the Hoops Academy JV basketball team. The only thing left standing in her way is Pre-Algebra. Nadia's grades are slipping and she's worried about being able to play. And, her best friend, Skyler, has started acting sketchy. It's up to Nadia to raise her grades to keep her spot on the team and figure out what is going on.

Basketball-crazy Jake Burnett is thrilled to be leaving home to attend the prestigious Centerville Prep.

It's an opportunity to pursue his hoop dreams at the highest level. But things aren't quite as advertised at his new school, and Jake soon finds himself struggling both on and off the court. At first, Jake is determined to play harder and ignore the warning signs. Until he discovers that his new head coach is a scam artist, putting kids at risk for his own gain. Now Jake has a difficult choice to make--advance his basketball career or do the right thing.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don't like to read!

Terrell Jamerson is the #1 high school basketball player in the country. His team is poised to win State, top colleges are lining up to give him scholarships, and everyone says he could play in the NBA tomorrow. But it only takes one false step to lose everything.

Danny Wilcox is Terrell's best friend and teammate, and a top prospect himself, but these days it seems like everyone wants to get close to Terrell: the sneaker guys, the money managers, the college boosters. They show up offering fast cars, hot girls, and cold, hard cash. They say they just want to help, but their kind of help could get Terrell disqualified.

Danny and Terrell better keep their eyes on the ball if they hope to last the season.

John Feinstein has been praised as the best writer of sports books in America today (The Boston Globe), and he proves it again in this fast-paced novel.

Thorough and suspenseful; a must-read for those interested in basketball and the dealings surrounding the sport. --Kirkus Reviews, Starred

Friday Night Lights meets Concussion in this powerful and important novel by Geoff Herbach, author of the Stupid Fast series, exploring the dangerous concussion crisis in football through the eyes of a high school team captain.

Isaiah loves football. In fact, football saved Isaiah's life, giving him structure and discipline after his sister's death tore his family apart. But when Isaiah gets knocked out cold on the field, he learns there's a lot more to lose than football.

While recovering from a concussion, Isaiah wonders what his life would look like without the game. All his friends are on the team, and Isaiah knows they can't win without him. The scholarship offer from Cornell is only on the table if he keeps playing.

And without football, what would keep his family together? What would prevent him from sliding back into the habits that nearly destroyed him?

Isaiah must decide how much he's willing to sacrifice for the sport that gave him everything, even if playing football threatens to take away his future.

Sophie-Kim is excited to finally start her freshman basketball season at Hoops Academy. Except, something important is missing. Where is the school's mascot, DC Wild? When Sophie-Kim learns that the mascot costume was stolen, she gathers a group of trusted friends. It's up to them to discover who stole the costume and why, get their costume back, and save their team spirit.