Pop by Gordon Korman

High-school junior Marcus has moved to a new town (that has the defending state champion football team) in the middle of summer . He knows absolutely no one, but he really wants to make the football team. He goes to the town park and starts throwing the ball around and, in the process, meets a guy who really seems to know football. As the two of them  pass and tackle, Marcus gets better with each "pop". Who is this guy? And why is he helping Marcus when he has a son of his own at home? And why does he act so strange all the time? Even if you aren't a football fan, you'll enjoy a really good story!

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg

12-year-old Matt is a casualty of war, but not in the usual sense. You see he was airlifted out of Vietnam two years earlier and brought to the United States after his mother realizes she can no longer take care of him. Now that he is in the US living with a new family, he has to figure out a way to fit in and "forget" everything he left behind. Luckily for him, baseball is a universal game allowing "all the broken pieces" to fall where they may.

Gym Candy by Carl Deuker

How far would you be willing to go to get what you want? For Mick Johnson, the son of an infamous high school, then college, and finally NFL football player, he's got huge shoes to fill. But can he do it himself or does he need the help of some gym candy? And what about the consequences that come with that kind of "candy"? For Mick, winning isn't everything, it's the only thing. But is it really?