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When Wesley Boone writes a poem for his high school English class, some of his classmates clamor to read their poems aloud too. Soon they’re having weekly poetry sessions and, one by one, the eighteen students are opening up and taking on the risky challenge of self-revelation. There’s Lupe Alvarin, desperate to have a baby so she will feel loved. Raynard Patterson, hiding a secret behind his silence. Porscha Johnson, needing an outlet for her anger after her mother OD’s. Through the poetry they share and narratives in which they reveal their most intimate thoughts about themselves and one another, their words and lives show what lies beneath the skin, behind the eyes, beyond the masquerade.

Miles is a half-black/half-Puerto Rican teen on scholarship at an elite prep school. He still has the same issues every other high school kid has — on top of being a web slinger. He’s having trouble at school, and when his powers start to go haywire, he wonders if he really should be a hero at all, or if he should just focus on getting his school life together. When Miles discovers a dangerous plot that threatens what he holds dear, he has a decision to make. Will he continue on as Spidey? What about his scholarship? Is he really just like his criminal uncle

Young, black 16-year-old Steve Harmon, an amateur filmmaker, is on trial for the murder of a Harlem drugstore owner and could face the death penalty. Steve copes by writing a movie script based on his trial. But despite his efforts, reality is blurred until he can no longer tell who he is or what the truth is.”Myers adeptly allows each character to speak for him or herself, leaving readers to judge for themselves.”

An award-winning author presents a riveting account of the extraordinary career and accomplishments of boxer Muhammad Ali. This biography chronicles Ali’s impact on race relations inside and outside the sports world.

Maleeka Madison is a strong student who has had enough of being teased about her “too black” skin and handmade clothes. So when she starts seventh grade, she decides to adopt a sassier attitude and a tougher circle of friends. The last thing she expects is to get “messed up” with another “freak,” but that’s exactly what happens.

After a new teacher, whose face is disfigured from a skin disease, enters her life, will Maleeka be able to learn to love the skin she’s in?

Growing up on the rough streets of Newark, New Jersey, Rameck, George, and Sampson could easily have followed their childhood friends into drug dealing, gangs, and prison. But when a presentation at their school made the three boys aware of the opportunities available to them in the medical and dental professions, they made a pact among themselves that they would become doctors. It took a lot of determination—and a lot of support from one another—but despite all the hardships along the way, the three succeeded. Retold with the help of an award-winning author, this younger adaptation of the adult hit novel The Pact is a hard-hitting, powerful, and inspirational book that will speak to young readers everywhere.