If Kobe Bryant recommends a series for young adults, my guess is that this series is going to hold adolescent's attention. Bryant said the he became aware of the series when his twelve year-old daughter "came home raving about the book and said, "Dad, you've got to read this."
The series is Jason Reynold's Track series, a set of four books which follows track and field athletes as they stuggle with challenges on and off the track. Ghost, the protangonist in the first book, Ghost, has a dark past and a lot of anger to overcome. Can he funnel this anger into a positive outcome?
The value of this series, as Bryant notes, goes beyond setting goals in athletics. It is about teens developing resiliency to get them through the big battles in life. Ghost was awarded Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (2019) and many other coveted awards.
For more information and professional reviews, consult:
Cooper, Llene. “Top 10 Diverse Fiction for Youth.” Booklist, vol. 113, no. 11, Feb. 2017, p. 38. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=120969943&site=ehost-live. Accessed 25 May 2019.
Njoku, Eboni. “Ghost.” Horn Book Magazine, vol. 92, no. 6, Nov. 2016, p. 86. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=118807605&site=ehost-live. Accessed 25 May 2019.
“The Must List.” Entertainment Weekly, no. 1430, 9 Sept. 2016, p. 3. MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=117822080&site=ehost-live. Accessed 25 May 2019.
