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Description:
The Friends, Foes, and Crisis Jam explores the darker side of teenage angst. With subject matter centering on problems as serious as depression, racism, and life in jail, these novels are sure to grab students’ attention from the very beginning.
Featuring the books:
The Hoopster by Alan Lawrence Sitomer
Andre Anderson is a black teenager with a dream. Although he loves to play basketball and laugh with his friends, he also loves to write and wants to make his mark on the world. One summer when he is assigned to do a magazine article about race, he creates a passionate and explosive piece. Soon, he is the target of racists, who brutally attack him and put him in the hospital. With his body and dream broken, he must figure out how to put his life back together despite the anger and injustice he now sees around him.
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Steve Harmon is 16 years old. He’s a good student who’s shown promise in his filmmaking class. He has a stable and loving family. And he’s on trial for murder. Accused of acting as the lookout for a drug store robbery in which the owner was killed, Steve finds his world turned upside down. He’s being held as an adult in a New York detention center. In an attempt to cope with the brutality and degradation of jail and the helplessness he feels at the trial, Steve writes down his experiences and feelings as though it were the script for a movie. The title for his movie comes from the word the prosecution uses to describe him: monster. As the trial progresses, Steve is forced to take a hard look at himself and the choices he’s made as he contemplates spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper
The night that Andy’s life changes forever begins as a great time. His basketball team wins a big game, and Andy and his best friend Rob have some cold brews stashed in the car, just waiting for the party to begin.
Nothing anyone can say or do afterwards will convince Andy that what happens next isn’t his fault. After all, he buys the beer, he crashes into the wall, and he’s the one who can’t get his trapped friend out before the car goes up in a fiery explosion. Family, friends, counselors, and teachers are all there to help him through the darkness following the accident, but what kind of future can there be for someone who killed his best friend?
