When Chase wakes up in a hospital room, he doesn't even recognize his own mother. As the weeks pass, his body recovers, but his past is still a complete blank. His dad tells Chase that he was the star of the football and lacrosse teams and his mom points out his best friends to him. But when school starts, he notices that kids shrink away from him in the hallways and his 'best friends' are jerks. He has a lot of questions about his past, but people are reluctant to answer him. As his memories come back and he learns who he was, the main question on everyone's mind is who will he be? Will the old Chase return, or is this a fresh start?

I loved this book! There's sports, humor, viral YouTube videos, and a lot more to enjoy. I particularly like that it shifts perspective so I got a sense of how the other students responded to Chase and how he affected their lives.

​Restart by Gordon Korman

Erica's Picks
4th - 7th Grade
Tags: ​contemporary fiction, friendship, humor, issues fiction, school stories, sports

Playing sports always brought Trent joy. Everyone in town knew him as the golden kid who could excel at any type of game, and he took pride in his reputation. Until the day a pick-up hockey game changed his life forever. One slapshot to the chest combined with an un-diagnosed heart condition made Trent a killer. Now it's a new school year and a new baseball season. It should be a fresh start, but Trent can't leave the past behind. He's changed into someone his friends and family don't recognize and he's not sure if he can ever go back, or if he even wants to. Will he ever play sports again? Who will he be without them?

The characters in this story are simply fantastic. It would take a very cold heart not to sympathize with Trent as he recovers from the grief and guilt of accidentally killing another kid. Those who enjoy sports will be especially impacted by the loss Trent feels at his inability to play the way he did before. Misfits and sports neophytes, on the other hand, will relate to the other main character Fallon, who helps Trent adjust to his new life. A little something for everyone.

Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff

Erica's Picks
4th - 7th Grade
Tags: character driven, contemporary fiction, friendship, issues fiction, school stories, sports

​Braden just wants to keep his head down and play baseball. But his entire world is turned upside-down when his father is arrested for killing a police officer. His father is a well-known christian radio personality, which makes the case a field day for the press. Braden is the key witness in his trail, and in the midst of this circus he has to decide how he will testify. Everyone takes sides, and naturally his team has his back. The nephew of the cop Braden's father is accused of killing plays baseball at a neighboring school, and when the two teams face off, everyone feels that there's much more than a game at stake.

I'm not a baseball fan, but this book made me care about the game. Religion, politics, sexuality, sports, race: this book sounds like the recipe for an awkward and contentious dinner conversation, but somehow Gilbert pulls it all together into a fantastic and compelling novel.

Conviction by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Erica's Picks 8th & up
Tags: Character Driven, Contemporary Fiction, Family Life, Issues Fiction, LGBTQ, Sports

I just read some reviews of this book on Goodreads. People are all over the place.  Some love Parker for her snarky, sarcastic, fiercely independent, unforgiving, courageous, selfish, self-centered persona.  Others hate her for it.  Did I mention that she happens to be blind and runs track so fast the coach thinks the timer is broken?  She has a set of rules for life; here are a few:
Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public.
Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you're just getting in my way or bothering me.
Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter.
There are NO second chances. Violate my trust and I’ll never trust you again. Betrayal is unforgivable.
Unfortunately she believes that the boy she has always loved violated her trust and she will NEVER forgive him even if she loves him still.  Prickly with practically everyone, Parker is not an empathetic character, yet you root for her and wish she would let people closer and realize that everyone is fighting their own battle.

Tessa' s Picks
8th summer 2016, Character driven, Contemporary fiction, Sports; 7th grade, 8th grade