A New York Times Bestseller
Ghost. Patina. Sunny. Lu. 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�" a team that could take them to the state championships. They all have a lot to lose, but they all have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves.
Sunny is just that a�" sunny. Always ready with a goofy smile and something nice to say, Sunny is the chillest dude on the Defenders team. But his life hasna�TMt always been sun beamy-bright. You see, Sunny is a murderer. Or at least he thinks of himself that way. His mother died giving birth to him, and based on how Sunnya�TMs dad treats him a�" ignoring him, making Sunny call him Darryl, never a��Dada�\x9d a�" ita�TMs no wonder Sunny thinks hea�TMs to blame. It seems the only thing Sunny can do right in his dada�TMs eyes is win first place ribbons running the mile, just like his mom did. But Sunny doesna�TMt like running, never has. So he stops. Right in the middle of a race.
With his relationship with his dad now worse than ever, the last thing Sunny wants to do is leave the other newbies a�" his only friends a�" behind. But you cana�TMt be on a track team and not run. So Coach asks Sunny what he wants to do. Sunnya�TMs answer? Dance. Yes, dance. But you also cana�TMt be on a track team and dance. Then, in a stroke of genius only Jason Reynolds can conceive, Sunny discovers a track event that
encompasses the hard beats of hip-hop, the precision of ballet, and the showmanship of dance as a whole: the discus throw. But as he practices for this new event, can he let go of everything thata�TMs been eating him up inside?Grades 5-7 | Ages 8-10 | Lexile 700L