Books with author Robert Lipsyte

from back cover:No summer vacation could be less promising than Bobby Marks's.Bobby Marks hates hot weaather. It's the time when most people are happy to take off their heavy jackets and long pants. But for Bobby, who can't even button the waist of his jeans or reach over his belly to touch his toes, spending the summer at Rumson Lake is pure torture.This particular summer promises to be worse than usual. His mom and dad can't stop fighting. His best friend, Joanie, goes home to New York City unexpectedly and won't tell him why. Dr. Kahn, the rich, stingy estate owner who hires him to manage the lawn, is trying to work Bobby to death before he can earn a single dime. And the local guy who worked for Dr. Kahn last summer is lurking around every corner, itching for a chance to catch Bobby alone, to pay him back for stealing the job.But there's more to Bobby Marks than his200 pounds. He's about to find out just how terrifying and exhilarating, how dangerous and wonderful, one fat summer can be.

Sonny Bear, the heavyweight champ, is on a fast downhill slide, and there's no brake in sight. Nothing seems to matter anymore -- not the money, not the fame, and not even the title. Sonny needs something -- or someone -- to make him realize that he is still the champ.Starkey has never met Sonny, but he knows that he can help him get back in the ring. But first Starkey needs to find Sonny before it's too late.With Starkey's help, Sonny gets back on track -- but will his rise back to the top mean a knockout for Starkey?Robert Lipsyte, recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in young adult fiction, returns to the characters from his award-winning novels The Contender, The Brave, and The Chief in this long-awaited powerful conclusion to the series.

Sonny Bear is used to the jeers. He's been an outsider all his life. The Moscondagas on the Reservation see him as white. Whites see him as Indian. So far, Sonny's managed to harness his anger - what he calls "the monster" - in the boxing ring. But Sonny wants out of the Res. He's sick of his uncle Jake's Redskin fairy tales about who he is and what he should be. He's headed for New York City, where nobody can tell him what to do. Sonny doesn't count on stepping into the middle of an intense dope war when he gets there - or on tangling with a tough Harlem-boxer-turned-cop named Alfred Brooks. Brooks seems to think that Sonny's got the talent to make it to the top - to be a contender. But first Sonny's got to learn to act smart, take control of his life... and beat the monster. Only it isn't as easy as it sounds...