The old south in 1911. Thirteen-year-old Virgil Gibson is the middle child in a large southern family. As times get harder, Virgil’s mother pushes the family toward a strong faith in God, and Virgil seemingly has few worries. When his father tells the family that Virgil must live and work at a factory in a neighboring town to help supplement their meager farm income, everything changes. The unfamiliar and hostile factory environment leaves him feeling forsaken by his family and forgotten by God. Virgil is placed with Angelica, a beautiful caramel-skinned bi-racial girl who is assigned to help him adjust. They grow closer and fall in love. When Virgil loses his job, he heads north to find better work and answers to his lack of faith. Angelica agrees to go with him and they embark on the exciting adventure together. As they face the relentless bigotry and exploitation of the times, they become separated. Virgil, determined that he will one day be reunited with Angelica, must somehow survive while searching for his lost love and spiritual truths. He encounters unique and colorful characters that provide inspiration, and life lessons. Virgil follows his heart on this journey that searches for love, acceptance, and redemption while intolerance and lack of reason challenge the core of his faith.

When being yourself isn't good enough, who should you be? Told in dual perspectives, this provocative and timely novel for middle-school readers by Paula Chase, the acclaimed author of So Done and Dough Boys, will resonate with fans of Jason Reynolds, Rebecca Stead, and Renée Watson. Best friends Rasheeda and Monique are both good girls. For Sheeda, that means keeping her friends close and following her deeply religious and strict aunt’s every rule. For Mo, that means not making waves in the prestigious and mostly White ballet intensive she’s been accepted to. But what happens when Sheeda catches the eye of Mo’s older brother, and the invisible racial barriers to Mo’s success as a ballerina turn out to be not so invisible? What happens when you discover that being yourself isn’t good enough? How do you fight back? Paula Chase explores the complex and emotional issues that affect many young teens in this novel set in the same neighborhood as her acclaimed So Done and Dough Boys. Friendship, family, finding yourself, and standing your ground are the themes of this universal story that is perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Rebecca Stead, and Renée Watson.

When you lose your voice, who will speak for you? When it all seems hopeless, how do you get through each day? In the New York Times bestseller Ghost Boy, Martin Pistorius tells the harrowing story of his return to life through the healing power of love and faith. In January 1988, a happy, healthy twelve-year-old Martin Pistorius came home from school with a sore throat. Soon, he was sleeping all day, refusing meals, and starting to lose his voice. His doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months, his voice fell silent and his developing mind became trapped inside a body he couldn't control. Martin's parents were told that the unknown degenerative disease he was struggling with would mean that he had less than two years to live. He felt invisible--like a ghost of himself. The stress and heartache shook his family to the core, bringing his parents to the brink of separation. Their boy was gone--or so they thought. Martin started to come back to life. He couldn't make a sign or a sound, but he'd become aware of the world around him again and was finally finding his way back to himself. In these pages, you'll hear the highs and lows of Martin's journey from his own perspective, including: A family's resilience in the face of hardship The consequences of misdiagnosis The gift of a wild imagination Ghost Boy shares the beautiful, heart-wrenching story of a life reclaimed, a business created, a family transformed, and a new love that's blossomed. Martin's emergence from his own darkness invites us to celebrate our own lives and fight for a better life for those around us.

“One of the most remarkable books I’ve ever read. It’s truly moving, eye-opening, incredibly vivid.”—Jon Stewart, The Daily Show NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • The Wall Street Journal • Bloomberg Business • Bookish FINALIST FOR THE BOOKS FOR A BETTER LIFE FIRST BOOK AWARD • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER You’ve never read a book like The Reason I Jump. Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within. Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” “Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?” “Why don’t you make eye contact when you’re talking?” and “What’s the reason you jump?” (Naoki’s answer: “When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”) With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights—into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory—are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again. In his introduction, bestselling novelist David Mitchell writes that Naoki’s words allowed him to feel, for the first time, as if his own autistic child was explaining what was happening in his mind. “It is no exaggeration to say that The Reason I Jump allowed me to round a corner in our relationship.” This translation was a labor of love by David and his wife, KA Yoshida, so they’d be able to share that feeling with friends, the wider autism community, and beyond. Naoki’s book, in its beauty, truthfulness, and simplicity, is a gift to be shared. Praise for The Reason I Jump “This is an intimate book, one that brings readers right into an autistic mind.”—Chicago Tribune (Editor’s Choice) “Amazing times a million.”—Whoopi Goldberg, People “The Reason I Jump is a Rosetta stone. . . . This book takes about ninety minutes to read, and it will stretch your vision of what it is to be human.”—Andrew Solomon, The Times (U.K.) “Extraordinary, moving, and jeweled with epiphanies.”—The Boston Globe “Small but profound . . . [Higashida’s] startling, moving insights offer a rare look inside the autistic mind.”—Parade

"Luke Chase--yes, that Luke Chase, a modern hero ripped from the headlines--didn't mean to get caught up in Mrs. Heckler's murder. He just wanted to hook up with the hot new British girl at St. Benedict's, and if that meant sneaking out to the woods after hours, then so be it. But little did he know someone would end up dead right next to their rendezvous spot, and his best friend and roommate Oscar Weymouth would go down for it. With suspects aplenty and a past that's anything but innocent, Luke Chase reluctantly calls on his famous survival skills to find the true killer"--Back cover.

The amazing New York Times bestseller about what you can do when life gives you a second chance. Chase's memory just went out the window. Chase doesn't remember falling off the roof. He doesn't remember hitting his head. He doesn't, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name. He knows he's Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return. Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him. One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets. Pretty soon, it's not only a question of who Chase is -- it's a question of who he was . . . and who he's going to be. From the #1 bestselling author of Swindle and Slacker, Restart is the spectacular story of a kid with a messy past who has to figure out what it means to get a clean start.

Devaney Diamond and Chase Mackenzie's relationship has been like a Taylor Swift song. Best friends in elementary school. First loves in high school. Friends with benefits while Dani was away at college. But deep down, they have always loved each other. Have always been drawn to each other. And after much drama, they have managed to work things out and are now in college together as a couple. But dating in college isn't what either of them expected. Between Dani's active social life and sorority calendar and Chase's football practices and regimented workouts, they don't get as much time together as they planned. And when they finally do get a few minutes alone, their roommates don't seem to care about their privacy. In addition to that, Chase is starting over with new teammates who seem to think he's all hype. And when that part of his life spirals out of balance, it threatens everything. Dani and Chase have always talked about their forever, but now, they wonder if they'll even make it through the semester.