What if...

If You're Reading This

by Trent Reedy

Mike was 7 when his father was killed in mysterious circumstances in Afghanistan. 

Then, out of the blue, Mike receives a letter from his father -- the first of a series Dad wrote in Afghanistan, just in case he didn't come home, meant to share some wisdom with his son on the eve of Mike's 16th birthday. 

As the letters come in, Mike revels in spending time with his dad again, and takes his encouragement to try new things --

to go out for the football team, and ask out the beautiful Isma. 

But who's been keeping the letters all these years? 

And how did Dad actually die? 

As the answers to these mysteries are revealed, Mike and his family find a way to heal and move forward at last. 

Call #  YA REEDY, TRENT

A Boy with a Golden Arm...

The Pitcher

by William Hazelgrove

13 year-old Ricky Hernandez has a 75 mph pitch and dreams of making the freshman baseball team.  His first step toward a professional career. 

He's dyslexic, of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, and is ceaselessly taunted by his peers, led by a kid named Eric with an inside track to making the team. 

While most of Ricky's teammates can afford sports camp and private lessons, Ricky and his mother are broke due to his abusive father's lack of financial support and his mother's mounting medical bills. Despite her deteriorating health, 

she has loads of attitude, brains, and charm.

 She single-handedly persuades their neighbor, "The Pitcher," who played in the World Series, to set aside his beer, leave his garage, and coach Ricky.

Call # YA HAZELGROVE, WILLIAM