Arcadia Public Library

Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. 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 qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Ghost has a crazy natural talent, but no formal training....

"A mysterious stranger arrives at a boy's rundown Alabama farm home, just as a dangerous situation is unfolding for the twelve-year-old and his widowed mother"--

Details the evolution of violence in video games and looks at both sides of the debate concerning whether violent video games cause violent behavior.

"Twelve-year-old Fud feels trapped. She lives a precarious life in a cramped trailer with her mom and her mom's alcoholic ex-boxer boyfriend, Larry. Fud can see it's only a matter of time until Larry explodes again, even if her mom keeps on making excuses for his behavior. If only Fud could find a way to be as free as the coyotes roaming the Wyoming countryside: strong, smart, independent, and always willing to protect their own. When Larry comes...

Told from two viewpoints, sixth-graders Karina and Chris use social media to stand up to racism in Houston, Texas, after an attack puts Karina's Indian American grandfather in the hospital.

Discusses the riots that occurred in Los Angeles in 1992 after the verdict in the Rodney King case.

"Ever since her father died in a terrible accident, Maddy Gaines has worried a lot. She calls the police so often that she's on a first-name basis with the Sheriff. When a new boy moves to town, Maddy is convinced that he's not who he says he is-he's a boy who went missing six months ago. Maddy, her dog, her best friend, and her stepdad team up to see what he's hiding"--