J. D. Jackson
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English
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Big city politics, nasty secrets, a dirty cop, and a deranged sociopath set the stage for a riveting journey deep into the urban jungle. The last scion of a once-powerful political family, Worrcester mayor John O'Toole has his sights set on vastly higher aspirations. When night shift paramedic Thomas Archer uncovers a secret that could upend the mayor's career, O'Toole is set on silencing him, and sends Eamon Conroy, a brutal former cop, to ensure...
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"It was a mild May morning in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1862, the second year of the Civil War, when a twenty-three-year-old slave named Robert Smalls did the unthinkable and boldly seized a Confederate steamer. With his wife and two young children hidden on board, Smalls and a small crew ran a gauntlet of heavily armed fortifications in Charleston Harbor and delivered the valuable vessel and the massive guns it carried to nearby Union forces....
43) Dark Corner
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English
Description
Winner of the Gold Pen Award from the Black Writers Alliance, author Brandon Massey writes chilling novels of terror and suspense. In Dark Corner, a Mississippi backwater harbors a growing evil. After David Hunter learns of his estranged father's death in a freak boating accident, he travels to the famed author's home in the quaint burg of Mason's Corner to discover the man he never knew-and something terrifying about himself.
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English
Description
Drawing on 720 original interviews, a New York Times best-selling sportswriter captures as never before the elusive truth about the greatest athlete of all time who took the world by storm from the mid-1980s into the early 1990s--and then, almost overnight, disappeared.
45) Northwind
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English
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Description
When a deadly plague decimates his fishing village, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, navigating from one danger to the next. The deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer he comes to his truest self as he connects to the heartbeat of the ocean, the pulse of the landscape.
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English
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"Athlete after athlete in this book found discipline, hope, and inspiration on the playing field, rising above their circumstances. Filled with first-hand accounts from stars who exemplify the idea of enduring at all costs, Rising Above will serve as a must-read source of inspiration for kids and sports fans of all ages"--
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Advance Praise
"The Fight of the Century brings back memories of a different and troubled time both in sports and in our country. It is vividly reported and a perfect example of the old saying that the genius is in the details."
--John Feinstein
"The Fight of the Century just floats like a butterfly and sings like a canary. Arkush recaptures the period of the late '60s when America
48) The last exit
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English
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"Set in Washington D.C. in the near future, climate change has hit hard, fires are burning, unemployment is high, and controversial longevity treatments are only available to the very rich. Enter resourceful young police detective, Jen B. Lu, and her "partner," Chandler, a SIM implant in her brain that's her instant link to the Internet and police records, and a constant voice inside her head. He's an inquisitive tough guy, with a helluva sense of...
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English
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2nd Grade Recommended Reads
Black Authors: Youth Nonfiction (SCPL-YS)
Black History Month - Youth
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Black Authors: Youth Nonfiction (SCPL-YS)
Black History Month - Youth
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Description
"As slaves relentlessly toiled in an unjust system in 19th century Louisiana, they all counted down the days until Sunday, when at least for half a day they were briefly able to congregate in Congo Square in New Orleans. Here they were free to set up an open market, sing, dance, and play music. They were free to forget their cares, their struggles, and their oppression. This story chronicles slaves' duties each day, from chopping logs on Mondays to...
50) Cemetery Road
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English
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When his old friend R.J. Burrow is brutally murdered in Los Angeles, Errol "Handy" White must return from exile to attend the funeral, certain that a terrible secret is about to reveal itself. Twenty-six years earlier, Hand, R.J. and O'Neal Holden were three young thieves who pulled a heist that went horrible awry, and Handy's been waiting to pay for it with his life ever since. Both the police and Holden, now a slick politician, are convinced R.J.'s...
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In 9 stories and 15 poems, Sharon G. Flake provides insight into the minds of a diverse group adolescent African American males.
here's Tow-Kaye, getting married at age 16 to love of his life, who's pregnant. He knows it's the right thing to do, but he's scared to death. James writes in his diary about his twin brother's terrible secret, which threatens to pull James down, too. Tyler explains what it's like to be...
here's Tow-Kaye, getting married at age 16 to love of his life, who's pregnant. He knows it's the right thing to do, but he's scared to death. James writes in his diary about his twin brother's terrible secret, which threatens to pull James down, too. Tyler explains what it's like to be...
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English
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Description
"Can it ever get better? This is the question Benjamin Watson is asking. In a country aflame with the fallout from the racial divide - in which Ferguson, Charleston, and the Confederate flag dominate the national news, daily seeming to rip the wounds open ever wider - is there hope for honest and healing conversation? For finally coming to understand each other on issues that are ultimately about so much more than black and white? An NFL tight end...
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"On July 7, 2016, hundreds of protesters gathered in Dallas after the shooting of two black men-Philando Castile and Alton Sterling-by white policemen. One hundred Dallas police officers stood guard. At around nine p.m., a gunman opened fire into the line of officers from behind. Five were killed and a dozen more injured. Senior Cpl. Larry Gordon, a black twenty-one year department veteran, managed to keep the shooter talking, in part by bonding with...
54) The sittin' up
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English
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"When the patriarch of twelve-year-old Bean's sharecropping community dies, Bean gets a lesson in not only what it means to lose someone you love, but also in how his family and friends care for their dead"--
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English
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"A chilling and blisteringly relevant literary novel of social horror centered around a brutal killing that takes place in a full-contact haunted escape room-a provocative exploration of capitalism, hate politics, racial fetishism, and our obsession with fear as entertainment. On April 27, 1997, four contestants make it to the final cell of the Quigley House, a full-contact haunted escape room in Lincoln, Nebraska, made famous for its monstrosities,...
56) Dodgers: A Novel
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English
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Dodgers is a dark, unforgettable coming-of-age journey that recalls the very best of Richard Price, Denis Johnson, and J.D. Salinger.
It is the story of a young LA gang member named East, who is sent by his uncle along with some other teenage boys—including East's hothead younger brother—to kill a key witness hiding out in Wisconsin. The journey takes East out of a city he's never left and into an America that...
It is the story of a young LA gang member named East, who is sent by his uncle along with some other teenage boys—including East's hothead younger brother—to kill a key witness hiding out in Wisconsin. The journey takes East out of a city he's never left and into an America that...
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As USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, puts it, "Tupac Shakur saw himself as both artist and urban soldier, battling the media, the law, the courts and rival rappers." Tupac overcame poverty to become one of hip-hop's biggest stars. His life, death, and music were all surrounded by controversy. Raised by a single mother and ex-Black Panther in Harlem, Tupac grew up aware of the problems in society around him. His social conscience and creative...
59) The Apostles
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English
Description
The Apostles run Chicago’s streets. Their leader, “Solemn Shawn” Terson, is the most revered–and feared–man in town. Because of his past exploits, the Apostles have a loyalty among its members that has reached mythic proportions.
When Insane Wayne, a former member of the rival gang, the Governors, comes groveling for admission to the coveted Apostles, he’s quickly turned down. His reaction is violent: He shoots...
When Insane Wayne, a former member of the rival gang, the Governors, comes groveling for admission to the coveted Apostles, he’s quickly turned down. His reaction is violent: He shoots...
Author
Language
English
Appears on these lists
2023 Best Adult Fiction & Nonfiction (SCPL)
2023 Eisenhower Staff Favorites
As Seen on BookTok
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2023 Eisenhower Staff Favorites
As Seen on BookTok
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Description
"In the riveting new novel from the author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist The Great Believers. A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past-the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia's...