Stand-Alone Books
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Beyond Lucky
Ari Fish believes in two things: his hero-Wayne Timcoe, the greatest soccer goalie to ever come out of Somerset Valley-and luck. So when Ari finds a rare and valuable Wayne Timcoe trading card, he’s sure his luck has changed for the better. Especially when he’s picked to be the starting goalie on his team. But when the card is stolen-and his best friend and the new girl on the team accuse each other of taking it-suddenly Ari can’t save a goal, everyone is fighting, and he doesn’t know who, or what, to believe in.
Before the team falls apart, Ari must learn how to make his own luck, and figure out what it truly means to be a hero.
Awarded 2011 VOYA Top Shelf for Middle School Readers
“Aronson skillfully dodges the predictability of sports-themed books by creating multilayered characters and an intriguing whodunit involving a valuable missing rookie card. Aronson’s graceful storytelling will keep even non-soccer buffs turning pages.” —Publisher’s Weekly
“Sarah Aronson skillfully captures just the right amount of both torment and elation in the voice of her young protagonist that will appeal to both boys and girls who like contemporary and fast-moving novels that mirror real life.” —Jewish Book Council
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Believe
When Janine Collins was six years old, she was the only survivor of a suicide bombing that killed her parents and dozens of others. Media coverage instantly turned her into a symbol of hope, peace, faith–of whatever anyone wanted her to be. Now, on the ten-year anniversary of the bombing, reporters are camped outside her house, eager to revisit the story of the “Soul Survivor.”
Janine doesn’t want the fame–or the pressure–of being a walking miracle. But the news cycle isn’t the only thing standing between her and a normal life. Everyone wants something from her, expects something of her. Even her closest friends are urging her to use her name-recognition for a “worthy cause.” But that’s nothing compared to the hopes of Dave Armstrong–the man who, a decade ago, pulled Jannine from the rubble. Now he’s a religious leader whose followers believe Janine has healing powers.
The scariest part? They might be right.
If she’s the Soul Survivor, what does she owe the people who believe in her? If she’s not the Soul Survivor, who is she?
“Issues of religion and responsibility get a refreshingly thorny examination in this hard-nosed look at a girl thrust into an unwelcome spotlight. Janine was only six when a suicide bombing in Jerusalem killed her journalist parents and many others. In fact, Janine was the sole survivor—or “Soul Survivor,” as the media dubbed her—miraculously pulled from the rubble with hand wounds resembling stigmata. The 10-year anniversary brings back the spotlight, especially when her rescuer, Dave, now a famous religious leader, comes to town. With shocking suddenness, Janine appears to heal two sufferers. Is it possible she truly is a healer? In this perfect read-alike to Neil Connelly’s The Miracle Stealer (2010), Aronson is adamant about keeping things realistic the entire way through, coating the so-called miracles with plenty of skepticism, and instead focusing on the way that Janine is used as a symbol of hope for anyone who needs it—even when things turn out poorly. Nuanced relationships and a refusal to accept easy answers make this a strong, unique look at faith. Grades 9-12.” —Booklist, Daniel Kraus
Review
“This is a book about faith, friendship, celebrity, family, and what pressure can do to someone. Readers may or may not agree with Janine’s choices, but those choices always ring true. Aronson makes readers ponder how they would act in Janine’s place. Hopefully they will never have to find out.” ―School Library Journal
Head Case
One mistake.
One bad night.
One too many drinks.
Frank Marder is a head, paralyzed from the neck down, and it’s his fault. He was drinking. He was driving. Now Frank can’t walk, he can’t move, he can’t feel his skin. He needs someone to feed him, to wash him, to move his body.
When you’re a head, do you ever feel like a whole person? Will Frank eve get to forgive himself?
If you ask most of the people who post on the www.quadkingonthenet, he hasn’t been adequately punished. Two people are dead because of him. Frank should go to jail. Only “Anonymous” disagrees.
A powerful and heartbreaking debut novel and a guy who had it all . . .until he drank that one last beer and got into the car. Head Case will make you consider how we judge each other. And how we can move beyond our mistakes—with honesty, compassion, and even humor.
Named a 2008 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.
“One mistake. One bad night. One too many drinks.” Radiating anger and despair, Frank, paralyzed from the neck down in the wake of a traffic accident that also killed a classmate and a pedestrian checks out of the hospital and into the care of his overprotective mother and generally absent father. Aronson tucks credible details into her bleak cautionary tale, such as Frank’s increasing sensitivity to sounds and to the taste of each bite of food. She also gives him a no-nonsense occupational therapist who briskly fills him in on sexual techniques for quadriplegics and gets him out of the house for wheelchair driving lessons. The ending is tidy: Frank sees his parents coming back together over him, and he begins to climb out of his inner slough thanks to an unexpected ally and his decision to address a high-school assembly. But this will make a strong impression on readers with its raw emotion and bitter narrative tone. ” —Booklist, John Peters