Books with author Rich Wallace

Riley feels like the smallest kid at sports camp. In fact, he is. He just turned eleven in April, but most kids here are twelve, and a few are even thirteen—and gigantic. It’s hard enough for a shrimp like Riley to fit in. He just doesn’t want to be the weak link as his bunk competes for the Camp Olympia Trophy.Riley knows he’s no good at strength and accuracy games like basketball and softball. But when it comes to speed and endurance events, like running and swimming, he’s better than he looks. He’s pretty sure he can place in the top ten—and bring in major trophy points—in the final mile-long swim race across Lake Surprise. But he doesn’t count on being followed by the shadow of Big Joe, the giant vicious snapping turtle of camp lore. Wasn’t that supposed to be a legend?From the Hardcover edition.

It's the summer of 1969. We've just landed on the moon, the Vietnam War is heating up, the Mets are beginning their famous World Series run, and Woodstock is rocking upstate New York. Down in New Jersey, twelve-year-old Brody is mostly concerned with the top ten hits on the radio and how much playing time he'll get on the football team. But when he goes along for the ride to Woodstock with his older brother and sees the mass of humanity there, he starts to wake up to the world around him-a world that could take away the brother he loves.

Ogunquit, Maine. That’s not where you’d expect to find a guy like Danny. He’s not a tourist. He’s not a local. And he’s definitely not gay. As far as he can tell, only he and the bartender at Dishes, where he works as a dishwasher, are straight. But that’s not what bothers Danny. What bothers him is that he’s got straight-guy problems in a very gay town. While he’s hitting on a cute waitress, the cute waiters are hitting on him. And could the cute waitress have a thing for his thirty-six-year-old dad? It’s one crazy summer in a crazy Maine town.

Cornell “Dunk” Duncan is thrilled to make the school basketball team, though as a secondstring center, he may mostly be warming the bench, since Jared, the starting center, is the best player on the team. But when Jared begins both missing practice and shots, Dunk gets to cover for him. He’s playing better than ever, but will that jeopardize his friendship with Jared?

Riley feels like the smallest kid at sports camp. In fact, he is. He just turned eleven in April, but most kids here are twelve, and a few are even thirteen—and gigantic. It’s hard enough for a shrimp like Riley to fit in. He just doesn’t want to be the weak link as his bunk competes for the Camp Olympia Trophy.Riley knows he’s no good at strength and accuracy games like basketball and softball. But when it comes to speed and endurance events, like running and swimming, he’s better than he looks. He’s pretty sure he can place in the top ten—and bring in major trophy points—in the final mile-long swim race across Lake Surprise. But he doesn’t count on being followed by the shadow of Big Joe, the giant vicious snapping turtle of camp lore. Wasn’t that supposed to be a legend?From the Hardcover edition.

The pressures of being an undercover reporter are getting to Eddie Ventura. No one on his baseball team has realized that he is the anonymous writer behind all the great new coverage their team has been getting from their school newspaper. The only problem isanot everyone is thrilled with the stories, or the uncanny way their secrets are being leaked to the press. Should Eddie quit writing for the school newspaper before his secret is uncovered?

Ron is watcher, it seems. He watches his pick-up basketball team-five guys trying to fit together on the court. He watches Dawn on the dance floor, and that tiny star tattoo on her shoulder. He watches Darby run, her short legs all sweat and muscle. He watches his friends veer off-and up-into popularity. He watches his dad move in with his grandmother and make do. But he's more than a watcher: He's a hustler on the court, a free-thrower, a poet, a poker player, a rule breaker, a loving grandson, a runner, and a ruthless competitor in those eight laps around the track-the 3200 meter. In nine interwoven stories, award-winning author Rich Wallace brings a small-town high school to life through the sharp, spare voice-and the heart-pounding defeats and triumphs-of an athlete. From the Hardcover edition.

Eddie Ventura is the first baseman for the Hudson City Hornets seventhgrade baseball team. The team is off to a rough start, but finally begins to win some games. Not exactly thanks to Eddie. He’s a good enough player, but he’s a better writer, and soon he’s recruited by the sports editor of the school newspaper to write about the team’s games. Thing is, he’s more of a storyteller than a truthteller, and before long the rest of the team isn’t sure that they like what Eddie is writing about them! PRAISE FOR WINNING SEASON: "Wallace should be commended for endeavoring to keep boys of this age reading." —VOYA "Fast-moving sports stories with soul." —Children’s Literature