New York Times bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein exposes the real “March Madness”—behind the scenes at the Final Four basketball tournament. When Stevie wins a writing contest for aspiring sports journalists, his prize is a press pass to the Final Four in New Orleans. While exploring the Superdome, he overhears a plot to throw the championship game. With the help of fellow contest winner Susan Carol, Stevie has just 48 hours to figure out who is blackmailing one of the star players . . . and why. John Feinstein has been praised as “the best writer of sports books in America today” (The Boston Globe), and he proves it again in this fast-paced novel. “A page-turning thriller and a basketball junkie’s bonanza.” —USA Today
This is a phenomenal sports story that happened in a town in Utah that most people cant even pronounce; Tooele, tu:illa. It is a true story about a team of destiny that learned about life, compassion, and athletic achievement. It is a real underdog story, a modern day Hoosiers, a shot HERD round the world. It was a miracle. The message is delivered to us by an underdog comprised of fifteen boys, five assistant coaches, and their head coach. They started out as individuals then worked to become true champions who loved and respected each other. The team was plagued with setbacks and surrounded by an unending array of naysayers and skeptics who defined the impossible. For their head coach it would become a love for his players, his family, his home town, and a battle for life itself.
When their love is put to the ultimate test and their foundation is cracked, can they repair the damages to their covenant, or will their life together be over as quickly as it began? Young and deeply in love, Mone't and Austin have the world at their fingertips. They were the beacon of love in the hood of Ganton Hills; a couple worth protecting. But the hood politics don't exist outside of the nine blocks. With a sudden thrust into success, Mone't and Austin face trials and tribulations they never imagined nor have the tools to handle.
This easy-to-use, research-based literacy center focuses on the five areas of reading. The center contains differentiated activities to meet the needs of all learners, recommended children's literature, and a letter to build a school-home connection.
Twenty years ago, Forensic Photographer Amari, armed with nothing but her camera and an insatiable thirst for truth, ventured into the woods to uncover the secrets of an old murder case. But the forest swallowed her and her story, leaving behind only her camera as a silent witness to her disappearance. The film, once determined to be useless and unable to be developed, is now Charlize's main focus. She's certain new technology can bring the shots back to life. A small town can burry big secrets, but she refuses to let them. As new evidence reveals its secrets, Charlize finds herself delving deeper into a tangled web of old lies, elusive truths, and the dark heart of the woods.
A coming-of-age memoir of addiction, ambition and redemption in the high-stakes world of Michelin star kitchens. From reckless drug addict to one of Australia’s top chefs and television stars: MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo's powerful life story will shock and inspire. Jock’s life spiralled out of control when he tried heroin for the first time as a teenager while growing up in 1980s Glasgow. For years he balanced a career as a rising star amongst legendary chefs with a crippling drug addiction that took him down many dark paths. Fired from his job at a Michelin star restaurant in Chester, England, after a foul-mouthed rant, Jock made his way to London looking for work and found himself in front of the legendary Marco Pierre White. He credits White for saving his life, but Jock continued to struggle with addiction in a world of excess, celebrity, and cut-throat ambition. On New Year’s Eve 1999, Jock shot up his last shot of heroin before boarding a plane to Sydney, where he would find passion and new meaning in life in the most unexpected places. There would be more struggles ahead, including two failed marriages, the closure of his prized restaurant during COVID-19, his time on-country, and some very public battles. This is the unforgettable story of an incredible life cut short too soon. Praise for Last Shot 'I’ve known Jock for 25 years. He is not only a great mate but an incredibly talented chef - in Australia and around the world. Last Shot really shows how resilient Jock is and how far he has come in his personal and professional life. I’m inspired by how brave Jock has been for putting this biography out there. I couldn’t put it down. Loved it!’ Matt Moran ‘Zonfrillo climbed his way to the top of the gastronomic ladder only to abdicate his position. He still inspires chefs worldwide.’ Marco Pierre White ‘An amazingly candid story of a prolific but complicated chef who made it back from the brink despite the obstacles, surely one of the best comeback stories there is!’ Gordon Ramsay ‘Jock absolutely lives and breathes his passion for food, which began in childhood. And between the incredible ups and downs of his life that we read about in Last Shot, what really comes through for me is his search for knowledge of Indigenous foods – I so admire how the depth of his learning combined with his amazing skill and creativity has allowed him to celebrate the uniqueness of the cultures he has embraced.’ Maggie Beer AO
It ought to be just a game, but basketball on the playgrounds of Coney Island is much more than that -- for many young men it represents their only hope of escape from a life of crime, poverty, and despair. In The Last Shot, Darcy Frey chronicles the aspirations of four of the neighborhood's most promising players. What they have going for them is athletic talent, grace, and years of dedication. But working against them are woefully inadequate schooling, family circumstances that are often desperate, and the slick, brutal world of college athletic recruitment. Incisively and compassionately written, The Last Shot introduces us to unforgettable characters and takes us into their world with an intimacy seldom seen in contemporary journalism. The result is a startling and poignant expose of inner-city life and the big business of college basketball.
Neither of them were looking for love. After suffering devastating loss, physiotherapist Everleigh is rebuilding her life in the picturesque seaside town of Crimson Point. She’s even made a list of new things she wants to try—and it doesn’t include men. But when unexpected sparks fly between her and a friend, her life is turned upside down all over again. Grady is taking a new job in another state soon, and her instinct is to guard her heart—but she decides to take a risk on him anyway. She knows better than anyone how short life is, and would rather risk more pain than miss out on the chance for something real. Then evil strikes without warning, shattering her newfound happiness and plunging them both into a desperate fight for survival. It finds them anyway. For the past few years pararescueman Grady Mendoza has focused on his career in the military and set everything else aside, including relationships. Until Everleigh. She’s been off limits until recently but when mutual attraction flares hot between them, it’s game on. Now he can’t stay away, and soon she’s making him question everything he thought he wanted out of life. Because time is running out for them, and the thought of walking away from her is tearing him up inside. And when they’re suddenly thrust into the middle of a deadly maelstrom, Grady is prepared to give up everything to save her—including his life. NOTE: This story contains scenes of extreme gun violence that may be upsetting to some readers. Discretion advised. For fans of: military heroes, small town romance, alpha heroes, friends to lovers romance, romantic suspense, second chance romance, widow heroine
The beloved author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and Posted returns with a humorous and heartwarming story of family, friendship, and miniature golf. For as long as he can remember, Malcolm has never felt like he was good enough. Not for his parents, who have always seemed at odds with each other, with Malcolm caught in between. And especially not for his dad, whose competitive drive and love for sports Malcolm has never shared. That is, until Malcolm discovers miniature golf, the one sport he actually enjoys. Maybe it’s the way in which every hole is a puzzle to be solved. Or the whimsy of the windmills and waterfalls that decorate the course. Or maybe it’s the slushies at the snack bar. But whatever the reason, something about mini golf just clicks for Malcolm. And best of all, it’s a sport his dad can’t possibly obsess over. Or so Malcolm thinks. Soon he is signed up for lessons and entered in tournaments. And yet, even as he becomes a better golfer and finds unexpected friends at the local course, be wonders if he might not always be a disappointment. But as the final match of the year draws closer, the tension between Malcolm’s parents reaches a breaking point, and it’s up to him to put the puzzle of his family back together again.
In this follow-up to Rocket Blues, Rocket is drafted in the OHL tryouts and heads off to training camp in his pursuit of one day becoming a hockey legend! Now almost 16 years old, Rocket has been drafted by an OHL team in the 13th round. His mom however has different plans for his future and thinks he should go for a US college scholarship instead. But Rocket is sure that junior hockey is his best route to the NHL. After convincing his mom to let him try out, Rocket heads off to training camp, where he soon discovers that most of the other players seem more interested in goals and getting drafted to the NHL, and all the money and perks that come with it, than the team. The competition is high, and the stress higher. Rocket will have to fight for his life to make the team, and decide whether or not his hockey dream is worth it.
