New Releases by Paul Acampora

Quando la vita ti manda al tappeto, e rimettere insieme i pezzi sembra impossibile, l’unica cosa che conta sono i veri amici. Oscar, Riley e Noah frequentano la stessa scuola, ma non potrebbero essere più diversi. Oscar è la star della squadra di football, popolare e ammirato da compagni e professori, Riley ha sempre la risposta pronta ma non riesce ad ambientarsi nella minuscola città di West Beacon, mentre Noah è un ragazzo minuto, con un passato da homeschooler e una passione per l’arte e la ceramica. Qualcosa, però, li accomuna. Tutti e tre sono stati segnati da eventi che hanno mandato in frantumi le loro sicurezze: Oscar ha da poco perso la sorella minore a causa del cancro, Riley e la madre sono scappate da Philadelphia dopo aver subito una rapina, e Noah sta cercando di limitare i danni della burrascosa separazione dei suoi genitori. Ognuno di loro cerca di riaggiustare la propria vita, trovando nell’amicizia e nelle lezioni di modellaggio dell’argilla il modo giusto per esprimersi e prendersi cura l’uno dell’altro. Alcune delle loro ferite, probabilmente, non guariranno mai, e ciò che è andato in pezzi non sarà possibile ricostruirlo, ma va bene così. Tra risate e lacrime, anomale preghiere e cori da stadio, Oscar, Riley e Noah sapranno far risplendere ogni ammaccatura, grazie alla loro profonda, solida amicizia.

Three unlikely friends become partners in heartbreak and hope during a middle school pottery class in this powerful, poignant novel—perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Lynda Mullaly Hunt. At West Beacon Middle School, eighth graders Oscar Villanueva, Riley Baptiste, and Noah Wright become unlikely friends during Introduction to Clay class. Oscar, a football star, just lost his little sister to cancer. Riley''s been dragged away from Philadelphia by her single mom to a new life in West Beacon, a tiny Pennsylvania coal town that''s smaller than Riley''s old school. Noah''s spent his whole life as a homeschooler and just started West Beacon Middle School as a result of his parents'' train wreck of a divorce. Through art, football, failure, faith, and trust, the friends help one another to piece things back together again. In true friendship, they also discover that some injuries may never heal, some things can never be unbroken—and that''s okay too.

Between going out with his celebrity crush and his mom''s campaign to be the next town mayor, Danny''s got a lot to learn about life in the spotlight. When Danny Constantino asks his old-friend-turned-Hollywood-movie-star, Natalie Flores Griffin, to his local school dance and homecoming parade, she surprises him . . . by saying yes! Unfortunately, now everyone in Cuper Cove has something to say about Danny''s love life--especially since Natalie is the hometown hero. Throw in herds of TV reporters and NFG groupies, his mom using Natalie''s arrival for free publicity, and a pep rally gone horribly, horribly awry, and Danny''s left absolutely clueless in this new world of crushes and becoming (kind of) famous.

What''s a girl to do when she finds out her late mother was the lead singer of an ''80s cover band, Cyndi Lauper is Not Dead? A hilarious MG by an author who''s been compared to Peck, Gantos, and Bauer. Ellie Magari just learned that her mother is dead. Perhaps that would be sad if Ellie had ever met the woman. Exactly who was Ellie''s mom? Does it even matter that she''s gone? Perhaps a dead mom can still help Ellie figure out what it means to be a girl in the world today. Either way, Ellie wouldn''t mind a role model beyond her master chef Dad.Fueled by the bighearted sounds of ''80s rock and roll, plus large doses of Cyndi Lauper''s girl-power joy, Confusion Is Nothing New is about friendship, family mysteries, and the perfect pizza. It''s also about fathers and daughters and girls who understand that it''s good to make things, but breaking things is okay too. In fact, sometimes breaking things is required.

For fans of Gary Schmidt and Joan Bauer, a laugh-out-loud intergenerational road trip story from acclaimed author Paul Acampora! Since the death of his grandfather, Leo''s number one chore has been to chase after his grandmother who seems to wander away from home every few days. Now, Gram''s decided to roam farther than ever. And despite his misgivings, Leo''s going along for the ride. With his seventeen-year-old cousin, Abbey, and an old, gassy dog named Kermit, Leo joins Gram in a big, old Buick to leave their Pennsylvania home for a cross-country road trip filled with fold-out maps, family secrets, new friends, and dinosaur bones.How to Avoid Extinction is a middle grade comedy about death and food and family and fossils. It''s about running away from home and coming back again. For Leo, it''s about asking hard questions and hopefully finding some sensible answers. As if good sense has anything to do with it. Against a backdrop of America''s stunning size and beauty, it''s also about growing up, getting old, dreaming about immortality, and figuring out all the things we can -- and can''t -- leave behind.

When Lucy, Elena, and Michael receive their summer reading list, they are excited to see To Kill A Mockingbird included. But not everyone in their class shares the same enthusiasm. So they hatch a plot to get the entire town talking about the well-known Harper Lee classic. They plan controversial ways to get people to read the book, including re-shelving copies of the book in bookstores so that people think they are missing and starting a website committed to "destroying the mockingbird." Their efforts are successful when all of the hullabaloo starts to direct more people to the book. But soon, their exploits start to spin out of control and they unwittingly start a mini revolution in the name of books. I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora is a middle grade novel perfect for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird andGo Set a Watchman. This title has Common Core connections. “The banter among the three whip-smart friends would make John Green proud. . . . You won''t have to hide any copies of this to create demand.” —The Bulletin “Fans of Janet Tashjian''s The Gospel According to Larry series will enjoy this look at how the power of creativity and the internet can cause a cultural movement. . . . Acampora''s novel is for lovers of literature, especially how the classics work in the current moment.” —VOYA

Zachary''s mom just up and disappeared from their home in Copper Lake, Colorado. The good news is that Zachary and his dad are trying to move on, and Falls, Connecticut is just the place for a fresh start. With the help of a new friend, Rachel, and her brother Teddy, Zachary is learning about new beginnings, the power of forgiveness, and the quirky people that make life interesting.

When sixteen-year-old Dulcie''s father dies, her mother makes a decision to move them to California, where Dulcie makes an equally radical decision to steal her dad''s old truck and head back home.