Great Sports Reads

When Jake gets an opportunity be part of the crew for an eight-day whitewater rafting trip along the Cattibone River, he jumps at it. Not even the news that his kayaking rival, Peter, is coming along as a paying customer can dampen his excitement. Riding down the isolated Cattibone River with its dangerous Class IV rapids will be the perfect opportunity to prove to his boss that he's ready to be promoted from company "gofer" to river guide, even though he's only 15 years old.

Real danger in the world of make believe.

Fifteen year olds Jake and Peter land dream jobs: roles as skateboarding stuntboys on a movie set.

But sabotage points to a jealous friend -- but who? As if the pressure of performing on a movie set for a demanding director isn't enough, the boys have an uneasy relationship with three local skateboarding "toughs."

Adding to their problems is a BMX bike gang determined to use ramps from which they've been banned. They'll do anything to use the ramps including befriending Jake's sister.

Jake and Peter are coached by the town's new skate park manager -- a former X-Games champ. But his flock of misfit helpers adds to the intrigue.

When police chase down their street skating and someone lands in the hospital, the boys know it's time to get to the bottom of who has it in for them, and why.

Skateboard Stuntboys is an action-packed story that never stops rolling.

This is the third adrenalin-pumping outdoor sports adventure in the Take It to the Extreme series with best friends Peter and Jake. It's summer vacation, and when Ron, a former guide with Sam's Adventure Tours, invites Jake and Peter to help develop a mountain bike trail in in British Columbia, near the American border, the boys can't believe their luck. Or so they think.

As they start working hard in an isolated park, the boys sense that Ron might not be telling the truth and they begin to question his motives. When Peter tells Jake about his misgivings, things start to heat up. Join the boys as they plunge into the mountain-biking descent of their lives.

What's it mean to think team? It means you don't talk team business with anybody who isn't on the team. It means whatever happens inside the team stays inside. It means you can only trust a brother Raider. Any questions?

At Nearmont High School, football stars are treated like royalty, and Matt Rydek has just ascended to the throne. He's got it all: hot girls, chill friends, plenty of juice to make him strong, and a winning team poised to go all the way. If he can keep his eye on the ball now, his future will be set. But when the team turns on one of its own, should Matt play by Raiders rules, or should he go long alone?

A meteorite is hurtling toward the Black Hills of South Dakota. . . .

Brady Steele watches in awe as a fireball comes crashing through the roof of his house. Brady immediately calls up his cousin, Quinn. They both love all things extreme, and this is the most extreme thing ever!

Fred, as Brady names his space rock, turns out to be one of the rarest meteorites ever found. Professor Rip Ripley from the museum in Hill City wants to study a sliver of it in search of extraterrestrial bacteria. He's hoping to discover the first proof of life beyond Earth, a momentous breakthrough for the new science of astrobiology.

During a wild week of extreme bicycling, fishing, and caving, Brady and Quinn battle their rivals, the notorious Carver boys, for possession of the meteorite. With each new day, Brady is discovering he's able to do strange and wonderful feats that shouldn't be possible. At the same time, he's developing some frightening symptoms. Could he be infected with long-dormant microbes from space? Is Fred a prize or a menace?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty.

Now, as Coach Rake's “boys” sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old games, relive the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake—or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, a man who must finally forgive his coach—and himself—before he can get on with life, the stakes are especially high.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Rick Dockery is the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually gets into the game. With a seventeen-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provides what is arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he becomes a national laughingstock—and is immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams.

But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds, Rick finally gets a job—as the starting quarterback for the Mighty Panthers . . . of Parma, Italy. The Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player—any former NFL player—at their helm. And now they've got Rick, who knows nothing about Parma (not even where it is) and doesn't speak a word of Italian. To say that Italy—the land of fine wines, extremely small cars, and football americano—holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement.