num_pages: 136
description: A Harlem high school dropout escapes from a gang of punks into a boxing gym, where he learns that being a contender is hard and often discouraging work, but that you don't know anything until you try.
language: English
title: The Contender
titlecomplete: The Contender
genres: Fiction, Coming Of Age, Teen, School, Young Adult, Sports, Read For School, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction
ratings_count: 4496
places: New York City, New York, Harlem, New York City, New York
series: The Contender
awards: awardedAt: -94665600000
name: Best Children's Books of the Year (Bank Street College of Education), awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Margaret A. Edwards Award
publisher: Bantam Books