Books with author Patrick Jones

José can't keep up. As the only English speaker in a family of undocumented immigrants, he handles everything from taking family members to the doctor to bargaining with the landlord. Plus he works two jobs. With all this responsibility, he's missing a lot of school. When he does make it, he falls asleep in class. José knows he has to turn things around if he wants to graduate from Rondo Alternative High School. Can he raise his grades enough to have a shot at college and a better life? Or will he be forced to drop out of school for good?

When Jessica is diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, she finally understands why her best friend is her dog and why she breaks out in a sweat whenever she interacts with others. She hopes a fresh start at Rondo Alternative High School will help. Joining the manga club seems like a good move―especially since quirky, quiet Dylan is a member. Can a kindred spirit help her work through her anxiety? Can she overcome her fear and make some real friends?

Moving off the reservation and enrolling at Rondo Alternative High School is supposed to give Frankie a new start. But leaving gang life proves harder than Frankie ever imagined, as his cousins are set on bringing him into the family's dirty business. When Frankie's father is brutalized in prison by a rival gang, Frankie is faced with a decision. Will he take revenge and prove his loyalty to his people? Or can he keep his promise to his mother and find a way out?

Cody's basketball team, The Rebels, has an almost perfect record, thanks to the skills of his best friend Jayson "Dominator" Davis. Jayson is new to the team and to the nearly all-white high school. Tension between the coach and Jayson has simmered since he transferred from the inner city. When Coach kicks Jayson off the team, more than the school's record is at stake. A school-wide dispute falls along racial lines, and Cody finds himself at the center. Can Cody step up his game where it really counts?

Meghan lived through the car crash that killed her mom, but it left her with injuries that ruined her school sports career. Now she's the dojo's toughest female fighter. She just has to avoid getting kicked out for her pain pill habit. As her first amateur fight approaches, Meghan will have to decide if she's ready to move on from the crash and the secrets. Can she find the courage to choose her moves wisely—inside the cage and out?

During military exercises in the Sea of Japan, rogue missiles fire off from a U.S. naval battleship and head directly to the heart of North Korea.During a return trip to Washington, D.C., Air Force Two disappears over the Rocky Mountains.President Jack Meacham was once the former director of the CIA who was instrumental in the collapse of the Soviet regime. Now, nearly three decades later, his past comes back to haunt him with a single message: “Are you willing to sacrifice your life for the good of the whole?”The volley of missiles and the disappearance of Air Force Two were mere flexes of muscle from one man who wielded The Black Key, a tool that is capable of controlling nuclear arsenals and weaponry systems. It can control and manipulate economies. And it could be the most damning weapon the world has ever seen with a simple push of a button. Forced to make a choice, the president finds himself at odds with a former operative who seeks to end his life with a single twist of The Black Key. In the ‘Most Dangerous Game in the World,’ President Meacham is given two options: “You have forty-eight hours to end your life for the greater good of the whole . . . Or the United States will become a no-man’s land for thousands of years to come."With time winding down, the president turns to Jon Jericho, aka The Hunter, and his Special Operations Group, to locate and neutralize the man behind The Black Key. But the team quickly find themselves going up against a sophisticated military unit who protects the man behind the Key.With the fate of the president and an entire nation hanging in the balance of five men, Jon Jericho and his team must stop a man who has the widespread capability to wipe out an entire superpower with a single turn of a key.If Jericho’s team fails, then the president must face two critical choices: Do I live and allow the United States to be destroyed? . . . Or do I kill myself for the greater good of the whole?The clock is ticking.And it’s almost zero hour.From the bestselling author of Night of the Hunter and the Vatican Knights series.

Randy prides himself on being all a team captain should be. He expects a lot from himself and from his teammates. But his high standards are challenged when he discovers some players are cheating in school. Although he takes his role as team captain seriously, Randy's worried that exposing the wrongdoing of teammates will put their tournament in jeopardy. Is he ready to take that risk?

DeAndre knows racing again could land him back in reform school―or this time, behind bars. But even with his Honda Civic impounded, he can't stay away. Especially when he gets the chance to go head-to-head with Ali, who stole DeAndre's girlfriend, Nikki. When others aren't playing fair, DeAndre will have to decide: How can he tell who's on his side? And is earning back his credibility worth risking his life? Includes real tech specs and tuning details for the Honda Civic

Deja's mom has never been there when Deja needed her. She's lied, run off, and gotten into trouble with the law more times than anyone can count. She always promises to change―and always breaks those promises. Now―seventeen years after Deja was born in prison―her mom is back behind bars and having another baby. Deja agrees to raise baby Heaven until her mother returns home. She's determined to give Heaven the loving family life Deja never had. But being a substitute parent is harder than Deja expected. She'll need help from her friends, her grandmother, and even the mother she stopped trusting a long time ago. And she hopes that maybe―just maybe―she can keep her promises to Heaven.

Every adult wants to give DeQuin advice. His father, who's serving a life sentence, thinks DeQuin needs to toughen up. His uncle wants DeQuin to work hard and keep his head down. Then there's his grandfather, lecturing DeQuin at every turn―when he's not rambling about his glory days in the 1960s civil rights movement. DeQuin is doing fine without their help―until a fun night with friends gets out of control. Now he has to deal with the fallout. Should he fight, as his dad suggests? Should he run and hide, as his uncle would do? Or should he follow his grandfather's example of peaceful resistance? Whatever he chooses, he's still just one confrontation away from losing everything.