Books with author Joyce Sweeney

To escape their abusive father, five brothers take to the road Shawn and his brothers sit around the kitchen table, eating dinner and kidding around. They’re just like any other teenagers having a good time—until a groan comes from the living room, and the boys go dead silent. Their father is waking up, and he is angry. When Dad finds out that one of Shawn’s brothers scratched the car, he flies into a rage, slapping his son around until the boy has no tears left. It’s a horrifying scene—and one they’ve watched a thousand times before. That night, Shawn makes a decision. He’s running away, and he’s taking his brothers with him. They set out on the open road with only as much as they can carry, hoping to find a better life. But as the journey becomes more and more arduous, Shawn realizes that he and his brothers will have to rely on one another if they’re going to survive.

When four boys decide to spend the day exploring a cave, they have no idea that their fun afternoon is about to become a fight for survival Neil and his best friend, Randy, can’t wait to explore a nearby cave for the afternoon. But when Neil’s little brother, David, finds out, Neil is forced to bring David and his timid friend Terry along for the ride. What starts out as an exciting expedition soon turns dangerous when the four boys get lost in the cave’s labyrinth of winding passages. Neil knows it’s not David’s fault that they’re lost, yet he still lashes out at his brother with every wrong turn, and Randy and David’s constant bickering isn’t helping to calm his nerves. As tension builds between the boys, Neil and David try to address what they’ve kept hidden for years: the truth about David that can never be forgotten—or forgiven. Hopelessly lost, angry, hungry, and terrified, the boys are willing to do just about anything to find a way out of the cave before they end up killing one another. But to escape, Neil and David are going to have to figure out a way to put the past behind them and work together.

Haunted by visions, a teenage girl sees a window into what’s to come When Sarah’s cat, Shadow, is put to sleep, she feels the world crumbling around her. Shadow was her closest companion, and now, just like that, she’s gone. Sarah’s brother Patrick, in an effort to console her, digs a grave behind the house and holds a funeral. Every afternoon, Sarah sits beside the mound of earth, missing her cat so much that sometimes she feels like Shadow is curled up next to her. She’s more right than she knows. When Sarah’s big brother, Brian, comes home to visit, he and Patrick butt heads fiercely. As her family is thrown into chaos, Sarah begins seeing Shadow in visions—dreams that show a dark future for her family, which only Sarah can change. Her cat may be gone, but she will always be by Sarah’s side.

After Hunter prays to the angel Gabriel to protect him, he is shocked when a motorcycle rider appears to answer his prayers Hunter has spent his life going from foster home to foster home—he’s never had a real family looking after him. When his foster father dies, he is left at the mercy of his abusive foster mother, Stephanie, who resents Hunter for coming into their home and ruining her perfect life. Between living with Stephanie’s cruelty and dealing with the school bully, Hunter feels like he has no one to turn to—except for the angel Gabriel, who visited Hunter when he was a kid and promised he’d always watch over him. Although he hasn’t spoken to Gabriel in a long time, Hunter is desperate to avoid getting beaten again, so he prays for help—and Gabriel answers. Every time Hunter asks Gabriel for something, he receives it. Is he really being protected by a guardian angel? Hunter can’t believe he could ever be so lucky, but if an angel isn’t protecting him, who is?

Corey’s high school basketball team begins the season poised for the all-city championship, and when Noah joins the team, the title really seems to be in reach. But then a series of tragic circumstances begins to knock players off the team. Corey believes it’s more than just coincidence, and all signs point toward Noah and his unflinching ambition to be the star. Can Corey overcome his own weaknesses and save his team from sabotage? Or will he be the next target?

Entranced by a neighbor’s music, a teenage girl learns what it means to love At fourteen years old, Deidre is just beginning to notice boys. Her cousin Susan is about to go on her first date, with a drop-dead gorgeous sixteen-year-old, but Deidre doesn’t feel ready—that is, until she hears Jeff Elliot play. She’s making dinner for her mother when the sound of the piano comes down through the ceiling—a haunting melody of heartbreak and loss that fills her with a joy she never imagined. When Deidre meets Jeff by their apartment building’s pool, she knows immediately that she loves him. Although he is much older than she, Deidre believes she understands him like no one else can. But as she and Susan begin to find, nothing is as blinding as love at first sight.

On the edge of a Florida marsh, a young girl discovers the power of nature After hours on the highway, Miranda is beginning to doubt that there is anything beautiful in Florida. But when her dad turns onto the bridge to Turtle Island and she sees the ocean for the very first time, she realizes she couldn’t have been more wrong. Miranda has come here with her dad to meet her grandmother, whose cheerful energy conceals failing health. Miranda has been dreading this family vacation, but what she finds on Turtle Island will change her life forever. Her grandmother is the self-appointed guardian of the local marsh, a swampy wonderland whose very existence is in jeopardy. A passionate photographer, Miranda plans only to document the landscape. But when a mysterious young boy named Adam draws her into the fight for the marsh’s future, she learns that saving the environment can be a matter of life or death.

Being a pro wrestler takes talent, guts, and hard work—can Kyle make it to the pros and live the life he wants? Kyle Bailey is a normal high school senior with a secret ambition: to be a wrestling superstar with the WWE. When he hears about a wrestling class at the local gym, he knows this may be his one shot at making his dream come true. The only problem is that no one in his life understands his love of wrestling, so he can’t tell anyone what he’s doing—especially not his grandmother, who has raised him since he was a kid. As Kyle’s talent becomes increasingly apparent, his instructor takes notice and invites him to wrestle in an upcoming professional match. With his newfound success—and his beautiful wrestler girlfriend—Kyle feels like he’s finally exactly where he belongs. But when his grandmother’s health takes a turn for the worse, Kyle is torn between needing to care for her and wanting to follow his dreams. He isn’t ready to give up on being a pro wrestler, but he can’t abandon the woman who has taken care of him his entire life. Headlock is a heartwarming novel about the strength it takes to let go of what you love and the courage it takes to ask for help.

Fifteen-year-old Miranda is not sure how things will turn out when she travels with her father and stepmother to Florida to visit her grandmother. Her father and her grandmother haven't spoken in 10 years, and Miranda is surprised and delighted to meet lively Grandma Lila. As the summer progresses, Miranda discovers new depths to herself as she learns more about the wildlife of the marsh that her grandmother fiercely protects, and delights in the magic of the marsh with every click of her camera. As she gets to know Adam, part Cherokee, along the way, she begins to understand Adam and his belief in the spirit world.But when a sudden turn of events in her family raises questions about who Adam really is, Miranda, the perfect daughter, finds that she has to take a stand. Miranda discovers that her new view of the world opens up both beauty and pain as she turns her focus from the marsh to her own life and her family's past.

Be careful what you wish for . . . Becky Seville is excited when she finds her hard-to-buy-for family the perfect Christmas gift: a self-help book about using positive thinking to make dreams come true. All they have to do is write their greatest wishes at the front of the book and then follow the instructions. She even buys a copy for herself to get a date with her gorgeous new neighbor. Her family agrees that this year is going to be different; they are no longer going to let fear hold them back from achieving their goals. The Sevilles are on their way to having everything they’ve ever wanted—or so Becky thinks. But when everything starts going wrong, Becky realizes that just because you wish for something doesn’t mean you’re ready for the consequences of having it granted.

Every night, Zack is plagued by bizarre recurring nightmares—what if his dream world is trying to tell him something? Zack has never fit in with the rest of his family, and for as long as he can remember, he has experienced strange nightmares of a shadowy man. His therapist, Nancy, says these dreams are his subconscious mind’s way of trying to reveal something, but Zack isn’t so sure. After all, what could nightmares filled with tigers and apple orchards possibly mean? Luckily, he has the beautiful new girl at school to take his mind off his troubles. For his final assignment in art class, Zack is tasked with showing the darkest depths of his soul, and he knows that his nightmares are the perfect subject for a painting. But when a long-repressed memory from his childhood suddenly surfaces, Zack’s life is thrown into turmoil, and he discovers everything he thought about his family is based on a lie. Zack must finally confront his past before he can have a future free of the secret that haunts him.

On his first day of high school, a boy must confront his fears As soon as he wakes up, Eric senses doom on the horizon. A bright fourteen-year-old, he has been fast-tracked from junior high to the tenth grade, and he is terrified. The only thing saving him from panic is the knowledge that Paul, his best friend since childhood, will be by his side. Where Eric is scared of the unknown, Paul is fearless and seems capable of anything. But neither of them is ready for what’s in store. Eric attempts to leave his comfort zone, trying out for sports teams and joining the debate club, but the sadistic debate coach, Mr. Drake, is intent on destroying the young boy’s confidence. Eric is paralyzed by his fears until he encounters the story of the brave knight Beowulf, who encourages him to put worry aside and embrace the warrior within.