Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

You may remember Doug Swieteck from Gary Schmidt's Wednesday Wars. Doug is now the main character, in another warm Schmidt novel that takes place in the 70's. Doug is angry, and has good reason to be, with an abusive father, a cruel brother, and forced to move from Long Island to a small town in upstate New York as he enters the eighth grade. He hates his new town, he hates his new school, but finds solace when he visits the library where he discovers a book by James Audobon, and his beautiful illustrations of birds. The librarian, Mr. Powell, takes the time to teach Doug how to draw like Audobon. Doug is able to make parallels from what he sees in the drawings to his own life, which creates the organization for the book (each chapter is named and illustrated by one of the drawings from the book). Told in Doug's voice, you meet Lil Spicer whose friendship with Doug allows him to work for her father's grocery store, making grocery deliveries to people in the town, some of whom Doug gets close to. You will be angered and frustrated with Doug's father, his brother, Principal Peattie, and Coach Reed, but be uplifted by the others that support Doug in overcoming the adversity he faces. This book is touching, and will bring tears from the hurt Doug must confront, and joy from the support of those that care for him.
Read Reeds Score: 5

Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ron Koertge

Baseball is central to Kevin, a first baseman, who plays the game hard and is helping to bring his team to the playoffs. He has to balance this with his disinterested girlfriend Mira, his newest "friend" Amy, and his father, who is just starting a relationship after his wife passed away. In the end, it comes down to a tied game, the last inning, the final out...
An easy read, all told in 170 pages, perfect for the reluctant reader, and a great way to teach poetry. POETRY???
Pantoums, tankas, sestinas, couplets, blank verse...forms of poetry that sound foreign are what make up this novel in verse. Kevin's nickname is Shakespeare, given for his writing skills that were introduced in Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, to which this novel is a sequel. Kevin picks up his writing again, only this time he writes with Amy, a girl he meets at a poetry reading. Sending emails back and forth, experimenting with different writing forms, and sharing their teen angst make up much of the novel. A fun read, and a great way to hook an unsuspecting reader into poetry and the forms it takes.
Read Reads Score: 3.5

Gold Dust by Chris Lynch

Boston, 1975. Richard is a baseball maniac. He lives and breathes the sport. Napoleon, the new kid from the Dominican Republic is to be Richard's new partner. Richard would show Napoleon the baseball way. Except, Napoleon's dream is not Richard's. Napoleon wishes to be culturally enlightened. The strong racism that was in Boston raises its ugly head as Richard and Napoleon sort out their differences and tests their friendship.
Reed Reads Score: 4