Alfred Brooks is scared. He's a highschool dropout and his grocery store job is leading nowhere. His best friend is sinking further and further into drug addiction. Some street kids are after him for something he didn't even do. So Alfred begins going to Donatelli's Gym, a boxing club in Harlem that has trained champions. There he learns it's the effort, not the win, that makes the man -- that last desperate struggle to get back on your feet when you thought you were down for the count.

In any race, there are drivers. At the front of the pack, there are racers.

In the final laps, it's the racer who moves his car through the sweet spot, picks off the competition, and drives through a hole to win.

In Kyle's family, his older brother, Kris, has always been the racer, born and bred to it, like his father and grandfather and great-grandfather before him. And that's just fine with Kyle; he's got other things to do. Now Kris is out of commission, injured, and Kyle has no choice but to drive. Does he want to drive just long enough to keep Kris's seat warm, or does he want to race—and win?

Bobby Marks hates hot weather. It's the time when most people are happy to take off their heavy jackets and long pants. But for Bobby, who can't even button the waist of his jeans or reach over his belly to touch his toes, spending the summer at Rumson Lake is pure torture.

This particular summer promises to be worse than usual. His mom and dad can't stop fighting. His best friend, Joanie, goes home to New York City unexpectedly and won't tell him why. Dr. Kahn, the rich, stingy estate owner who hires him to manage the lawn, is trying to work Bobby to death before he can earn a single dime. And the local guy who worked for Dr. Kahn last summer is lurking around every corner, itching for a chance to catch Bobby alone, to pay him back for stealing the job.

But there's more to Bobby Marks than his two hundred pounds. He's about to find out just how terrifying and eshilarating, how dangerous and wonderful, one fat summer can be.

Their names echo through the halls of time and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Their feats are legendary. They never quit, and they never backed down. They inspired generations of Americans to push themselves to do their very best. They were, and remain, the heroes of baseball.

Hitting monster home runs, pitching perfect games, making impossible catches, and stealing home during the World Series -- these are the kinds of feats that turn baseball players into baseball superstars. But it takes more than great feats to become a hero of the game.

Every generation needs its own heroes, and in each generation that need is answered differently. Heroes reflect the times and societies in which they live and work. The impact made by baseball's heroes affects the way our society perceives itself, as well as the goals we set for ourselves and for our nation. Award-winning sportswriter Robert Lipsyte presents his vision for who the heroes of the game are, and what they did to achieve their legendary status....

In any race, there are drivers and, at the front of the pack, there are racers. In the final laps, it's the racer who moves his car through the sweet spot, picks off the competition, and drives through a hole to win.

In Kyle's family, his older brother, Kris, has always been the racer, born and bred to it, like his father and grandfather and great-grandfather before him. And that's just fine with Kyle; he's got other things to do. Now Kris is out of commission, injured, and Kyle has no choice but to drive. Does he want to drive just long enough to keep Kris's seat warm, or does he want to race—and win?

On the heels of Raiders Night, Yellow Flag is a pulse-pounding look inside the elite world of NASCAR racing, from award-winning novelist and sportswriter Robert Lipsyte.

Sonny Bear, the heavyweight champ, is on a fast downhill slide, and there's no brake in sight. Nothing seems to matter anymore -- not the money, not the fame, and not even the title. Sonny needs something -- or someone -- to make him realize that he is still the champ.

Starkey has never met Sonny, but he knows that he can help him get back in the ring. But first Starkey needs to find Sonny before it's too late.

With Starkey's help, Sonny gets back on track -- but will his rise back to the top mean a knockout for Starkey?

Robert Lipsyte, recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in young adult fiction, returns to the characters from his award-winning novels The Contender, The Brave, and The Chief in this long-awaited powerful conclusion to the series.

He has never fit into either world: the Moscondagas on the Reservation see him as white; whites see him as Indian. So far, Sonny's managed to harness his anger -- what he calls "the monster" -- in the boxing ring. But Sonny wants out of the Res. He's headed for New York City, where nobody can tell him what to do.

Sonny doesn't count on stepping into the middle of a drug war when he gets there -- or on tangling with a tough Harlem boxer-turned-cop named Alfred Brooks. Brooks seems to think that Sonny's got the talent to make it to the top -- to be a contender. But first Sonny's got to learn to be smart, take control of his life, and beat the monster. Only it isn't as easy as it sounds....