Books with title Asphalt

A raw, poignant story of a band of Brazilian street kids who survive -- if they can -- by their wits alone. Asphalt Angels centers around a boy named Alex, a street child of 13 in Brazil who has been kicked onto the city streets by his stepfather after his mother dies. He is alone and scared. This is the story of how he adapts to life in the streets with a group of other children. Hazards are everywhere: drug-dealing, theft, glue-sniffing, harassment, brutality, even murder. It is not easy steering clear of them, yet Alex manages to survive, eventually making a home with 14 other boys in a house, working in an office, and attending evening school. This story grew from the real-life drama the author observed while on assignment. In an afterword, she reports that some 10,000 children sleep in Rio's streets, and many more roam them by day, victims of inadequate nutrition, education, and shelter, and prey to drugs and violence. Alex does exist, but under another name.

Asphalt Angel revolves around Megan Cross and Ashley Summers, both high school seniors in rural Kentucky. On May 13, 2005, they are en route to West Virginia for a getaway weekend courtesy of their friend, Lindsey Farley. Lindsey has been engaged to Robert Williams since she graduated from high school the previous year. Their wedding reception is to be held at an historic haunted hotel, where Megan and Lindsey are staying for the weekend. Although close friends, the girls are polarized by environmental factors encountered earlier in their young lives. Megan was a big-city gangbanger before moving from Ohio to Kentucky. She often responds quickly and inappropriately to difficult situations. Conversely, Ashley is a small-town Christian girl, who strives to teach Megan the love of Jesus Christ. Their lives heat up when the girls stumble onto a gang of young criminals, who make and distribute bootleg whiskey. Megan is captured and nearly killed before being rescued by Lindsey’s new husband, who is also a state trooper. Afterwards, Megan rethinks her relationship with Jesus Christ and wonders where she would spend eternity if she had been killed without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.