The student body of Dawson High study hard, date, root for the home team, hold down part-time jobs, succeed and fail, just like most American teenagers. When opposing teams stay at the same motel, the coaches give the players strict rules to follow. Be polite and keep to yourselves. At first Rick appears to be cooperative, but Cole begins to question his actions. When Garrett goes missing, Rick acts strangely. What has he been up to?
Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine his best day turning into his worst. Chad and Marcus ruled the school. Smart. Athletic. Popular. A looming wrestle off for their weight class made Chad jumpy. Marcus told him to chill. But with one slam to the mat, Marcus would be dead.
Follow along with Josh as he practices day and night for the tournament.
Soccer is everything to me. Today is my tryout with Chivas USA. There's just one place up for grabs.
Angel never forgot a batter's swing. Angel watched the pitch. Crack! The ball flew into the night sky. Angel called it right away. "I've got it," he thought. He felt connected to it. He had a way of judging fly balls. Coach Benson said he "had a gift."
Derrick was a bag of nerves the next day. He kept dropping passes at practice. Amber Linn's news really rattled him. Needless to say, Colton was thrilled. "What's the matter, Big D? Can't hang onto the ball today?"
The pitching machine hurled the first pitch. It was just like at the cages. Carlos was comfortable. He lifted his left leg slightly. Then he turned his hips to the ball. He swung the bat. Crack!
Terrance thought about football. He was sore from practice. That was good. Coach Fisher said his blocks were better. He'd get to play in the game! Coach was right about football. You've got to have something to work for. It makes you work at everything.
Victor, a Mexican American teenager known for being a fast runner, deals with racism at school but finds strength in his family, his future, and romantic interest in Tiffany, the most popular girl in school.
Ty, a great high-school football player, doesn't like being compared to his father, who left Ty and his mother after getting another woman pregnant. But Ty finds the strength to continue playing, even against his half-brother's team.
Dale Curtis, the rookie on the Jackson Eagles basketball team, struggles between his commitment to the team and loyalty to his ex-con brother.
Wallace, having messed up at his old school, is determined not to give up basketball, but he worries that bullies are going to interfere with his second shot at success. The plot contains profanity and drug use.
Finding the "right book" for struggling learners is essential to build both confidence and proficiency. Reading supports must be seamless, so that struggling readers are not stigmatized. The District 13 series does just that--written using carefully chosen vocabulary and simple sentences, the novels offer compelling teen stories about characters that interest young adult readers. Using sports as a backdrop, these edgy and mature titles confront issues that are of great importance to urban teens, especially teenaged boys: Coming of age, dating, fitting in, friendships, drugs, self-esteem, and school. Straightforward plots move readers through the 48-pages of text quickly and efficiently with satisfying resolutions. Synopsis: Jamal ran around the hurdles. Daniel wanted to jump them. Hurdles are smaller than trash cans. He cleared one. Then another. Then another. Line up. Jump. Clear. Just like basketball. But easier. Jamal won. But it was okay.
Finding the "right book" for struggling learners is essential to build both confidence and proficiency. Reading supports must be seamless, so that struggling readers are not stigmatized. The District 13 series does just that--written using carefully chosen vocabulary and simple sentences, the novels offer compelling teen stories about characters that interest young adult readers. Using sports as a backdrop, these edgy and mature titles confront issues that are of great importance to urban teens, especially teenaged boys: Coming of age, dating, fitting in, friendships, drugs, self-esteem, and school. Straightforward plots move readers through the 48-pages of text quickly and efficiently with satisfying resolutions. Synopsis: They all walked to the court. Uncle Robert passed the ball to Patrice. She stepped toward the baseline. She looked so natural. She shot the ball. Nothing but net. Akil's jaw dropped. "Can you do that again?" The answer was yes.
