Promise Boys

In Plain Sight

War Stories

Thief of Dreams

The Adventures of a Young Protagonist

The Kids Who Knew Too Little

One Small Step

The Downward Spiral: Lock and Key

A fast-paced YA novel about four Mexican-American teenagers from Houston, a '59 Chevy Impala, and a murder that changes their lives forever.

Flaco isn't the kind of kid who gets in trouble. He doesn't want to give his mom or his aunt Ana Flor any grief--they've had enough since his cousin Carlos died serving in Iraq. But he finds a whole lot more trouble than he bargained for when he and his friends Tiny, Magaña, and Susi ride the bus from their Houston neighborhood to Diamond Park to buy a used car. And not just any car--a 1959 Impala convertible, a dream car. The transaction gets complicated fast, and Susi ends up with a knife in her hands, covered in blood. When Tiny has to disappear to avoid ICE, Flaco and Magaña head south in the Impala to set things right. In a wildly impetuous move, the two boys cross into Mexico hunting for a trafficker named Anaconda, the man they believe is the real killer, to clear Susi's name. In a breathtaking, seat-of-your-pants adventure they manage to kidnap him but in the process they discover how little they ever actually understood about what really happened in Diamond Park.

Discover Your Child's Next Read

Promise Boys

Nick Brooks, 2023

In Plain Sight

Richard Jackson, Jerry Pinkney, 2016

War Stories

Gordon Korman, 2020

Thief of Dreams

Todd Strasser, Tood Strasser, 2003

The Adventures of a Young Protagonist

Jeanne Willis, Raquel Catalina, 2022

The Kids Who Knew Too Little

Gitty Daneshvari, 2017

One Small Step

P.B. Kerr, 2008

The Downward Spiral: Lock and Key

Ridley Pearson, 2017