New Releases by Jason Reynolds

Le récit d''une première fois et toutes les questions des ados au début de leur vie sexuelle C''est l''histoire d''un garçon de 15 ans dans une salle de bains. Il a peur de sortir, car il est sur le point de faire l''amour avec sa copine. C''est la première fois pour tous les deux, et c''est dans vingt-quatre secondes. Il se souvient des conseils de sa grande soeur, il tente d''oublier ceux de ses potes, qui n''ont probablement jamais fait la moitié des choses dont ils parlent. Même si, là, maintenant, l''angoisse monte, il faut qu''il arrête de se dire : « Et si... et si... » et qu''il fasse confiance à l''amour pour le guider. Une écriture riche et une construction originale Une structure super originale en flash-back successifs : vingt-quatre minutes avant, quand il arrive chez sa chérie avec du poulet frit. Vingt-quatre heures avant, quand il discute avec sa grande soeur. Vingt-quatre jours, vingt-quatre semaines et vingt-quatre mois : quand il voit Aria pour la première fois. Un roman déjà salué par la critique « Jason Reynolds réussit encore un fois ! Mais d''une façon complètement différente. Son récit de la première fois de Neon, avec Aria, son véritable amour, est naturel et sincère du début à la fin. Qui ne voudrait pas commencer sa vie sexuelle avec Neon ? Il est tendre, doux, effrayé et drôle. Un vrai romantique. C''est toujours comme ça que ça devrait se passer, ah, si on avait toutes (et tous) la chance d''Aria ! Toutes les filles (et les autres) t''attendent, Neon ! » - Judy Blume, autrice New York Times bestselling (Are You There God? It''s Me, Margaret.).

Analytische annotatie (jeugd): Neon is smoorverliefd op zijn vriendin Aria en wil dolgraag seks met haar, maar vindt dat tegelijkertijd doodeng. Ze kennen elkaar al vierentwintig maanden. Maar vierentwintig seconden voor het grote moment geeft alles hem een onzeker en ongemakkelijk gevoel. Vanaf ca. 15 jaar.

A Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner A New York Times Bestseller Seven starred reviews! “Jason Reynolds has done it again!...Fresh from start to finish…This is what it could be, should be, if only we were all as lucky as Aria. Girls (and everyone) wait for your Neon!” —Judy Blume, New York Times bestselling author of Are You There God? It''s Me, Margaret. and Forever... #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds tackles it—you know…it—from the guy’s perspective in this stream of consciousness story of a teen boy about to experience a huge first. “Reynolds’s foray into romance is as spectacular as expected…Undoubtedly, a story for everyone” (Booklist, starred review). Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s owner: Aria. Dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail. Aria. Way more than fine. Twenty-four weeks ago: Neon’s dad insists on talking to him about tenderness and intimacy. Neon and Aria are definitely in love, and while they haven’t taken that next big step…yet, they’ve starting talking about…that. Twenty-four days ago: Neon’s mom finds her—gulp—bra in his room. Hey! No judging! Those hook thingies are complicated! So he’d figured he’d better practice, what with the big day only a month away. Twenty-four minutes ago: Neon leaves his shift at work at his dad’s bingo hall, making sure to bring some chicken tenders for Aria. They’re not candlelight and they definitely aren’t caviar, but they are her favorite. And right this second? Neon is locked in Aria’s bathroom, completely freaking out because twenty-four seconds from now he and Aria are about to…about to… Well, they won’t do anything if he can’t get out of his own head (all the advice, insecurities, and what ifs) and out of this bathroom!

During Mile''s in-school suspension, he finds himself in a fierce battle with a classmate turned insidious termite who is determined to destroy books and the Black and Brown history they contain, and only Miles can stop him.

Winner of the 2024 Michael L. Printz Award A National Bestseller From Michael L. Printz Award winner A.S. King and an all-star team of contributors including Anna-Marie McLemore and Jason Reynolds, an anthology of stories about remarkable people and their strange and surprising collections. From David Levithan’s story about a non-binary kid collecting pieces of other people’s collections to Jenny Torres Sanchez''s tale of a girl gathering types of fire while trying not to get burned to G. Neri''s piece about 1970''s skaters seeking opportunities to go vertical—anything can be collected and in the hands of these award-winning and bestselling authors, any collection can tell a story. Nine of the best YA novelists working today have written fiction based on a prompt from Printz-winner A.S. King (who also contributes a story) and the result is itself an extraordinary collection. M. T. Anderson, e. E. Charlton-Trujillo, A.S. King, David Levithan, Cory McCarthy, Anna-Marie McLemore, G. Neri, Jason Reynolds, Randy Ribay, and Jenny Torres Sanchez have each penned a surprising and provocative tale. (Cover art may vary.)

"Correr. Eso es lo único que Fantasma --cuyo nombre real es Castle Cranshaw-- ha conocido toda su vida. Pero nunca para un equipo de atletismo. Nones, lo suyo siempre ha sido el básquet. Pero cuando Fantasma, en una fanfarronada, reta a un velocista de élite a una competencia --y la gana--, el medallista olíimpico que es entrenador del equipo ve que él tiene algo: un talento natural que es una lacura."--

Analytische annotatie (jeugd): Shawn Holloman (19) is op straat vermoord. Zijn broer Will (15) wil wraak nemen op de vermoedelijke moordenaar, Carlson Riggs. Gewapend met Shawns pistool stapt Will in de lift. Maar tijdens de rit slaat de twijfel toe. Vanaf ca. 15 jaar.

Este livro aborda com humor e sensibilidade uma série de questões que afetam os adolescentes: bullying, insucesso escolar, doença, discriminação racial e de género, crise familiar e financeira... Depois de o ler, passamos a olhar com mais atenção e respeito para os dois lados de cada pessoa com quem nos cruzamos no nosso caminho. Plano Nacional de Leitura Literatura - 12-14 anos Finalista do National Book Award Um dos melhores livros do ano (New York Times e Time) Dez caminhos percorridos no mesmo dia. Dez adolescentes que saem da mesma escola. Um livro inesquecível de um autor multipremiado que nos prende e questiona: «Como vais mudar o mundo?» Em 10 breves histórias, que se entrecruzam de forma perfeita e quase impercetível nos mais pequenos detalhes, acompanhamos vários adolescentes desde o toque de saída da escola até à chegada a casa. Cada conto é apresentado sob vários ângulos. Tal como quando se atravessa a rua, somos levados a olhar para os dois lados da vida de cada um deles, e só então percebemos o porquê das suas ações e dos caminhos que tomam. Cada adolescente tem personalidade e circunstâncias distintas, as suas alegrias, os seus medos e os seus desafios diários. Uma galeria de personagens que nos inspiram com a sua coragem e a sua resiliência. Este livro aborda com humor e sensibilidade uma série de questões que afetam os adolescentes: bullying, insucesso escolar, doença, discriminação racial e de género, crise familiar e financeira... Depois de o ler, passamos a olhar com mais atenção e respeito para os dois lados de cada pessoa com quem nos cruzamos no nosso caminho.

And so for anyone who didn''t really know what it means to not be able to breathe, REALLY breathe, for generations, now you know. And those who already do, you''ll be nodding yep yep, that is exactly how it is . . . Intimately set within the walls of a family home, this book is an incredible artefact of the historic year we have all lived through. We travel from the depths of despair but not without hope; the mundane details contained within four walls becomes our sanctuary. This is a gift in commemoration of a time and place, of a world wide pandemic, of loss and of the murder of George Floyd. It is a reminder of how, in uncertain times, we can cling to the simple things for respite, for hope. A reminder of how comforting books and artworks are in times of extreme stress.

A stunning visual autobiography of two crazy-talented besties, bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds and painter Jason Griffin, who could never be who they are singularly if they weren’t who they were together. Once upon a time in America, there were two Jasons. Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin. One a poet. One an artist. One Black. One white. Two voices. One journey in mind: to move to New York, the city of dreams, to make their own dreams come true. Willing to have a life not un-hard, so long as it wasn’t unhappy. Willing to let the city swallow them whole, so long as it gives them their chance. They had each other. “What if painting was a sin, and the poetry became taboo. And no one ever clapped for me again. My question is, would you?” They clapped. Oh, they clapped. And aren’t we glad?

Le livre que vous avez entre les mains n’est pas un manuel d’histoire. C’est un livre sur l’instant présent. Un livre pour comprendre pourquoi nous en sommes arrivés là. Un livre sur la race. Le concept de race a toujours été utilisé pour obtenir le pouvoir et le conserver, mais aussi pour séparer les êtres humains et imposer le silence aux personnes racisées. Ce remix de Stamped From the Beginning d’Ibram X. Kendi met en avant l’histoire des discours racistes en Amérique et porte l’espoir d’un avenir antiraciste. C’est un véritable voyage dans le temps qui permet de comprendre pourquoi le poison du racisme persiste encore aujourd’hui. Mais si ces propos haineux ont toujours été faciles à fabriquer et à propager, ils peuvent aussi être discrédités. Grâce à un récit dynamique, Jason Reynolds lève le voile sur le caractère insidieux de ces idées et donne des clés pour les identifier et les éliminer de notre quotidien.

A Schneider Family Award Honor Book for Middle Grade From Newbery Medal honoree and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds comes a hilarious, hopeful, and action-packed middle grade novel about the greatest young superhero you’ve never heard of, filled with illustrations by Raúl the Third! Portico Reeves’s superpower is making sure all the other superheroes—like his parents and two best friends—stay super. And safe. Super safe. And he does this all in secret. No one in his civilian life knows he’s actually…Stuntboy! But his regular Portico identity is pretty cool, too. He lives in the biggest house on the block, maybe in the whole city, which basically makes it a castle. His mom calls where they live an apartment building. But a building with fifty doors just in the hallways is definitely a castle. And behind those fifty doors live a bunch of different people who Stuntboy saves all the time. In fact, he’s the only reason the cat, New Name Every Day, has nine lives. All this is swell except for Portico’s other secret, his not-so-super secret. His parents are fighting all the time. They’re trying to hide it by repeatedly telling Portico to go check on a neighbor “in the meantime.” But Portico knows “meantime” means his parents are heading into the Mean Time which means they’re about to get into it, and well, Portico’s superhero responsibility is to save them, too—as soon as he figures out how. Only, all these secrets give Portico the worry wiggles, the frets, which his mom calls anxiety. Plus, like all superheroes, Portico has an arch-nemesis who is determined to prove that there is nothing super about Portico at all.

Courir, Ghost sait faire. Depuis toujours. Mais pour une équipe d''athlé, no way. Pourtant, un soir, en rentrant du collège, il défie pour s''amuser un jeune sprinteur qui s''entraîne avec son équipe. Le coach est là et comprend tout de suite qu''il a un don. Mais Ghost est un gamin pauvre qui déborde de colère. Saura-t-il canaliser ses forces pour rejoindre l''équipe ? Ou bien le passé viendra-t-il le rattraper ? "Ghost" est le premier tome de l''incontournable tétralogie "GO !", de Jason Reynolds, une série qui raconte le destin de quatre ados, réunis par l''amour du sport et de la course. Lauréat du prix Livrentête 2021 Lauréat du prix Litterado 2021 dans la sélection 6e-5e "Jason Reynolds fait de nouveau mouche avec un roman court et percutant !" ("Le Monde des ados") "Une leçon de vie qui ne manque pas de souffle. On attend déjà le tome 2." ("Le Figaro") "Un beau récit qui rappelle les valeurs solides de la solidarité et de l''amitié." (Sophie Pilaire, "Ricochet")

A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Jason Reynolds’s Newbery Honor, Printz Honor, and Coretta Scott King Honor–winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novel Long Way Down is now a gripping, galvanizing graphic novel, with haunting artwork by Danica Novgorodoff. Will’s older brother, Shawn, has been shot. Dead. Will feels a sadness so great, he can’t explain it. But in his neighborhood, there are THE RULES: No. 1: Crying. Don’t. No matter what. No. 2: Snitching Don’t. No matter what. No. 3: Revenge Do. No matter what. But bullets miss. You can get the wrong guy. And there’s always someone else who knows to follow the rules…

''Met de meeste dingen waardoor mijn buurt een slechte naam krijgt bemoei ik me niet echt. De wapens en de drugs en zo: niet mijn ding.'' Ali heeft het druk genoeg, met school, boksen en thuis. Zijn beste vriend Noodles daarentegen komt altijd in de problemen. En op een of andere manier is Ali altijd degene die hem er weer uit moet halen. Maar hé, als vriend moet je er zijn voor je boys, toch? Trouwens, het zijn maar kleine dingen, het is niet alsof er iemand gewond raakt of zo. En dan is er Needles, Noodles'' broer. Hij heeft allerlei tics en roept soms ineens de raarste dingen. Maar het is oké, iedereen in de straat weet dat hij er niets mee bedoelt. Alles is cool... totdat Ali, Noodles en Needles ergens terechtkomen waar ze nooit hadden moeten zijn. Waar de mensen niet zo vriendelijk zijn, en al helemaal niet vergevingsgezind.

Miles Morales é um adolescente como todos os outros. Janta todos os domingos com os pais, joga games das antigas com o melhor amigo, Ganke, e tem uma queda por Alicia, a linda e inteligente poeta. Miles ostenta uma bolsa de estudos na prestigiada Brooklyn Visions Academy. Ah, sim, e ele também é o Homem-Aranha. Porém, nos últimos tempos, o sentido aranha de Miles não tem mostrado boa forma. Quando um mal-entendido o leva a ser suspenso do colégio, Miles começa a questionar suas habilidades. Afinal, seu pai e seu tio já foram pivetes com fichas criminais nas ruas do Brooklyn. Talvez moleques como Miles não estejam destinados a serem super-heróis. Talvez Miles deva ouvir o conselho do pai e cuidar de si próprio. Enquanto Miles tenta colocar sua vida escolar de volta nos trilhos, não consegue se livrar dos pesadelos vívidos que insistem em persegui-lo. Tampouco consegue evitar o zunido incessante do sentido aranha nas aulas de História, entre as falas suspeitas de seu professor sobre a escravidão e o sistema prisional moderno. Porém, quando sua bolsa de estudos é ameaçada, Miles descobre uma trama apavorante que ameaça a sua vida e a de todos à sua volta. É hora de Miles vestir o uniforme. Elogios: “Uma leitura necessária para qualquer fã de Homem-Aranha.” – Brian Michael Bendis, co-criador de Miles Morales “Um Homem-Aranha provocador, engraçado e essencial.” – Nicola Yoon, autora do best-seller Tudo e Todas as Coisas “Uma emocionante jornada pelas ruas do Brooklyn. Absolutamente brilhante.” – Daniel José Older, autor do best-seller Manipuladores de Sombras “Este é o Aranha que queremos e precisamos.” – Margaret Stohl, autora do best-seller Viúva Negra: Vermelho Eterno

A National Book Award Finalist Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book UK Carnegie Medal winner An NPR Favorite Book of 2019 A New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2019 A Time Best Children’s Book of 2019 A Today Show Best Kids’ Book of 2019 A Washington Post Best Children’s Book of 2019 A School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book of 2019 A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019 A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2019 “As innovative as it is emotionally arresting.” —Entertainment Weekly From National Book Award finalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds comes a novel told in ten blocks, showing all the different directions kids’ walks home can take. This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy— Talking about boogers. Stealing pocket change. Skateboarding. Wiping out. Braving up. Executing complicated handshakes. Planning an escape. Making jokes. Lotioning up. Finding comfort. But mostly, too busy walking home. Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life.

SOIXANTE SECONDES. SEPT ÉTAGES. TROIS LOIS Quand quelqu''un est tué dans le quartier de Will, il faut respecter les trois Lois : 1) Ne pas pleurer. 2) Ne pas balancer. 3) Se venger. Et Shawn, le frère de Will, vient d''être assassiné. LE PHÉNOMÈNE LITTÉRAIRE AUX 28 PRIX ENFIN TRADUIT! BEST-SELLER DU NEW YORK TIMES

Sunny tries to shine despite his troubled past in this third novel in the critically acclaimed Track series from National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds. Ghost. Patina. Sunny. Lu. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds, with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team—a team that could take them to the state championships. They all have a lot to lose, but they all have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Sunny is the main character in this novel, the third of four books in Jason Reynold’s electrifying middle grade series. Sunny is just that—sunny. Always ready with a goofy smile and something nice to say, Sunny is the chillest dude on the Defenders team. But his life hasn’t always been sun beamy-bright. You see, Sunny is a murderer. Or at least he thinks of himself that way. His mother died giving birth to him, and based on how Sunny’s dad treats him—ignoring him, making Sunny call him Darryl, never “Dad”—it’s no wonder Sunny thinks he’s to blame. It seems the only thing Sunny can do right in his dad’s eyes is win first place ribbons running the mile, just like his mom did. But Sunny doesn’t like running, never has. So he stops. Right in the middle of a race. With his relationship with his dad now worse than ever, the last thing Sunny wants to do is leave the other newbies—his only friends—behind. But you can’t be on a track team and not run. So Coach asks Sunny what he wants to do. Sunny’s answer? Dance. Yes, dance. But you also can’t be on a track team and dance. Then, in a stroke of genius only Jason Reynolds can conceive, Sunny discovers a track event that encompasses the hard beats of hip-hop, the precision of ballet, and the showmanship of dance as a whole: the discus throw. But as he practices for this new event, can he let go of everything that’s been eating him up inside?

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America. A selection of the Schomburg Center''s Black Liberation Reading List. Black is...sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson. Black is…three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds. Black is…Nic Stone’s high-class beauty dating a boy her momma would never approve of. Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland. Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—because there are countless ways to be Black enough. Contributors: Justina Ireland Varian Johnson Rita Williams-Garcia Dhonielle Clayton Kekla Magoon Leah Henderson Tochi Onyebuchi Jason Reynolds Nic Stone Liara Tamani Renée Watson Tracey Baptiste Coe Booth Brandy Colbert Jay Coles Ibi Zoboi Lamar Giles

“A lyrical masterpiece.” —School Library Journal (starred review) Originally performed at the Kennedy Center for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and later as a tribute to Walter Dean Myers, this stirring and inspirational poem is New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds’s rallying cry to the young dreamers of the world. For Every One is exactly that: for every one. For every one person. For every one who has a dream. But especially for every kid. The kids who dream of being better than they are. Kids who dream of doing more than they almost dare to imagine. Kids who are like Jason Reynolds, a self-professed dreamer. Jason does not claim to know how to make dreams come true; he has, in fact, been fighting on the front line of his own battle to make his own dreams a reality. He expected to make it when he was sixteen. Then eighteen. Then twenty-five. Now, some of those expectations have been realized. But others, the most important ones, lay ahead, and a lot of them involve kids, how to inspire them: All the kids who are scared to dream, or don’t know how to dream, or don’t dare to dream because they’ve NEVER seen a dream come true. Jason wants kids to know that dreams take time. They involve countless struggles. But no matter how many times a dreamer gets beat down, the drive and the passion and the hope never fully extinguishes—because simply having the dream is the start you need, or you won’t get anywhere anyway, and that is when you have to take a leap of faith. A pitch-perfect graduation, baby, or inspirational gift for anyone who needs to me reminded of their own abilities—to dream.

"A newbie to the track team, Patina "Patty" Jones must learn to rely on her family and teammates as she tries to outrun her personal demons"--

"Everyone gets mad at hustlers, especially if you''re on the victim side of the hustle. And Miles knew hustling was in his veins." Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He''s even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he''s Spider Man. But lately, Miles''s spidey-sense has been on the fritz. When a misunderstanding leads to his suspension from school, Miles begins to question his abilities. After all, his dad and uncle were Brooklyn jack-boys with criminal records. Maybe kids like Miles aren''t meant to be superheroes. Maybe Miles should take his dad''s advice and focus on saving himself. As Miles tries to get his school life back on track, he can''t shake the vivid nightmares that continue to haunt him. Nor can he avoid the relentless buzz of his spidey-sense every day in history class, amidst his teacher''s lectures on the historical "benefits" of slavery and the importance of the modern-day prison system. But after his scholarship is threatened, Miles uncovers a chilling plot, one that puts his friends, his neighborhood, and himself at risk. It''s time for Miles to suit up.

Aspiring to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school''s track team, gifted runner Ghost finds his goal challenged by a tragic past with a violent father.

Kirkus Award Finalist Schneider Family Book Award Winner Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book In this “pitch-perfect contemporary novel” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe Award-winning author Jason Reynolds explores multigenerational ideas about family love and bravery in the story of two brothers, their blind grandfather, and a dangerous rite of passage. Genie’s summer is full of surprises. The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia—in the COUNTRY! The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind. Thunderstruck, Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he hides it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans). How does he match his clothes? Know where to walk? Cook with a gas stove? Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it? Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he’s ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house—as in NEVER. And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into—a room so full of songbirds and plants that it’s almost as if it’s been pulled inside-out—he begins to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all. Then Ernie lets him down in the bravery department. It’s his fourteenth birthday, and, Grandpop says to become a man, you have to learn how to shoot a gun. Genie thinks that is AWESOME until he realizes Ernie has no interest in learning how to shoot. None. Nada. Dumbfounded by Ernie’s reluctance, Genie is left to wonder—is bravery and becoming a man only about proving something, or is it just as important to own up to what you won’t do?

When sixteen-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend. Told through Rashad and Quinn''s alternating viewpoints.

A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can’t handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more—and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down—in this “vivid, satisfying, and ultimately upbeat tale of grief, redemption, and grace” (Kirkus Reviews) from the Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe Award–winning author of When I Was the Greatest. Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died—although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can’t handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad’s snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt’s snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. Crazy name, and she’s been through more crazy stuff than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She’s tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he’s drawn to her, and definitely why he can’t seem to shake her. Because there’s nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness—and who can maybe even help take it away.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds, a “funny and rewarding” (Publishers Weekly) coming-of-age novel about friendship and loyalty across neighborhood lines and the hardship of life for an urban teen. A lot of the stuff that gives my neighborhood a bad name, I don’t really mess with. The guns and drugs and all that, not really my thing. Nah, not his thing. Ali’s got enough going on, between school and boxing and helping out at home. His best friend Noodles, though. Now there’s a dude looking for trouble—and, somehow, it’s always Ali around to pick up the pieces. But, hey, a guy’s gotta look out for his boys, right? Besides, it’s all small potatoes; it’s not like anyone’s getting hurt. And then there’s Needles. Needles is Noodles’s brother. He’s got a syndrome, and gets these tics and blurts out the wildest, craziest things. It’s cool, though: everyone on their street knows he doesn’t mean anything by it. Yeah, it’s cool…until Ali and Noodles and Needles find themselves somewhere they never expected to be…somewhere they never should''ve been—where the people aren’t so friendly, and even less forgiving.