gangs

Sixteen-year-old Tina and two friends leave Kenya and slip into the Congo, from where she and her mother fled years before, seeking revenge for her mother's murder but uncovering startling secrets.

"Hector has always worked hard and minded his own business. He wants to be captain of his school's chess team, go to college, and help his family make their way to a better life someday. Until Joey singles him out. Joey, whose older brother, Chavo, is head of the Disc?pulos gang, tells Hector that he's going to kill him: maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday. And Hector, frozen with fear, does nothing. From that day forward, Hector's death hangs over his head every time he leaves the house. He tries to fade into the shadows, to drop off Joey's radar, to become no one. But when a fight between Chavo and Hector's brother Fili escalates, Hector is left with no choice but to take a stand. The violent confrontation lands Hector in a reform school where he has to live side-by-side with his enemy, Joey. There, it's up to Hector to choose whether he's going to lose himself to anger and seek revenge, or get back to the hard work of living"--Provided by publisher.

"There are numerous underground organizations of crime hidden from the public. These criminals work diligently to keep their crimes secret in order to successfully execute their deceitful and dangerous missions. Through this . . . text, readers are given an in-depth look at secretive subjects such as organized crime, corruption in politics, fraud schemes, phishing and spam, and the drug trade"--Amazon.

In 1970s northern California, fifteen-year-old RJ Armante must fight to save himself and his disabled brother from the Blackjacks gang, and free his hometown, Arcangel, from its past.

"Starry-eyed Chris has just started the dream job every outcast kid in town wants: working at Vinyl Destination. It's as rad as she imagined--her boss is BOSS, her co-workers spend their time arguing over music, pushing against the patriarchy, and endlessly trying to form a band. When Rosie Riot, the staff's favorite singer, mysteriously vanishes the night before her band's show, Chris discovers her co-workers are doing more than just sorting vinyl . . . Her local indie record store is also a front for a teen girl vigilante squad"--Back cover.

"Its 1999 and Chris is living her dream: working at a vinyl destination by day and fighting for justice by night, in the world's coolest teen girl vigilante squad, but when the gals of vinyl destination enter a battle of the bands -- to investigate and, of courese, win--they learn that the shadowy corporate masters of the music industry are planning something big ... and want to blame it on Y2K. It's time for Chris and the gang to dial up 56K of justice so they can save the day once again!"--Back cover.

"In the mythical desert kingdom of Achra, an ancient law forces sixteen-year-old Princess Kateri to fight in the arena to prove her right to rule. For Kateri, winning also means fulfilling a promise to her late mother that she would protect her people, who are struggling through windstorms and drought. The situation is worsened by the gang of Desert Boys that frequently raids the city wells, forcing the king to ration what little water is left. The punishment for stealing water is a choice between two doors: behind one lies freedom, and behind the other is a tiger. But when Kateri's final opponent is announced, she knows she cannot win. In desperation, she turns to the desert and the one person she never thought she'd side with. What Kateri discovers twists her world--and her heart--upside down. Her future is now behind two doors--only she's not sure which holds the key to keeping her kingdom and which releases the tiger"--Provided by publisher.

When disaster strikes their family, Mamo and Dani are forced to live as street urchins in the slums of an Ethiopian city, where they are taken into a gang led by a tough but likable boy named Million.

This comprehensive yet compassionate text offers an in-depth look at how gun violence impacts different communities and provides advice for coping with the indelible mark it leaves.

"In the sweltering summer of 1915, Pin, the fourteen-year-old daughter of a carnival fortune-teller, dresses as a boy and joins a teenage gang that roams the famous Riverview amusement park, looking for trouble. Unbeknownst to the well-heeled city-dwellers and visitors who come to enjoy the midway, the park is also host to a ruthless killer who uses the shadows of the dark carnival attractions to conduct his crimes.