track and field

Ghost, a naturally talented runner and troublemaker, is recruited for an elite middle school track team. He must stay on track, literally and figuratively, to reach his full potential.

Lu was born to be co-captain of the Defenders. Well, actually, he was born albino, but that's got nothing to do with being a track star. Lu has swagger, plus the talent to back it up. No one's going to outshine him. Lu knows he can lead Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and the team to victory at the championships, but it might not be as easy as it seems. Suddenly, there are hurdles in Lu's way, literally and not-so-literally, and Lu needs to figure out, fast, what winning the gold really means.

Sunny, the Defenders' best runner, only runs for his father, who blames Sunny for his mother's death, but with his coach's help Sunny finds a way to combine track and field with his true passion, dancing.

A newbie to the track team, Patina "Patty" Jones must learn to rely on her family and teammates as she tries to outrun her personal demons.

"LU was born to be co-captain of the Defenders. Well, actually, he was born albino, but that's got nothing to do with being a track star. Lu has swagger, plus the talent to back it up, and with all that -- not to mention the gold chains and diamond earrings -- no one's gonna outshine him. Lu knows he can lead Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and the rest of the team to victory at the championships, but it might not be as easy as it seems. Suddenly, there are hurdles in Lu's way -- literally and not-so-literally -- and Lu needs to figure out, fast, what winning the gold really means."--.

"Sunny Lancaster is a winner. Wih-winner. As the best runner in the 1600 meter, Sunny can beat anyone by, well, a mile. But for Sunny, winning is boring. Buh-boring. Truth is, Sunny doesn't like running. Never has. What Sunny really loves ... is dancing. The boom-bap-bap of dance routines beats the chick chick chick of track meets any day. Sunny loves his team, though, so he can't quit, but he also can't be on a track team and not run. And he definitely can't be on a track team and dance. But it turns out track isn't just chick chick chick. It's also whoosh whoosh ahh ... If Sunny lets loose everything he's been holding inside, will he make the best moves ever, or will it be his biggest misstep?"--.

"Patina "Patty" Jones is the fastest girl on the Defenders track team. Makes sense; she's got a lot to run for. She runs for the kids at the fancy new school she's now being sent to, to show the ones who taunt her that she's gonna be something one day. She runs for her fellow Defenders newbies -- Ghost, Sunny, and Lu -- to make them proud. She runs for her little sister, Maddy, who relies on Patty to show her how to be brave and strong. And she runs for her mother, who can never run again. Like Ma says, Patty ain't no junk. And she's out to prove it. But when the pressure becomes too much, can she outdistance it?"--.

Ghost, a naturally talented runner and troublemaker, is recruited for an elite middle school track team. He must stay on track, literally and figuratively, to reach his full potential.

Four kids are chosen for an elite middle school track team--Ghost, Lu, Patina, and Sunny--a team that might even make it to the Junior Olympics if they can learn to work together. But they come from very different backgrounds and have wildly different personalities that often clash. Patina runs to get away from her problems at home, but now she must learn to control her anger enough to work as a team.

"Elementary sports fans will clear key vocabulary hurdles in this high-interest leveled reader about track and field events. Simple text and color photos touch on the shot put, high jump, and running events. A search-and-find feature reinforces key vocabulary"--Provided by publisher.