Wild Cards
Gr 9 Up—Derek Fitzpatrick has executed what would have been the perfect prank if he hadn't been caught. Now that he's been expelled from boarding school at the end of his junior year, Derek is forced to live with the much younger wife of his Navy dad, who is on active duty in the middle of the ocean. For Derek, this means moving from California to Illinois because his stepmother has decided to return home to live with her father and teenage sister, Ashtyn. Ashtyn Parker is looking forward to her senior year as team captain of her football team. That's right, this girl plays football! However, her hope for the perfect season is crushed when her boyfriend-who also happens to be the team's star quarterback-betrays her and his teammates by joining their rival school. Derek is the last person Ashtyn wants to trust. But he may be just the boy to lead Ashtyn and the team to a state championship, possibly stealing her heart along the way. Kirby Heyborne's smoky Southern drawl is sure to make readers swoon. Amy Rubinate does well to present Ashytn as the strong independent character she seems to be until she falls for Derek. Elkeles's latest (Walker, 2013) is for mature listeners and should be purchased where there is a fanbase for eye-roll-inducing love stories.—Betsy Davidson, Cortland Free Library, NY--This text refers to theAudio CDedition.