violence

A teen gang in rural Oklahoma, the Greasers are perpetually at odds with the Socials, a rival group. When Greasers, Ponyboy and Johnny, get into a brawl that ends in the death of a Social member, the boys are forced to go into hiding. Soon Ponyboy and Johnny, along with the intense Dallas and their other Greaser buddies, must contend with the consequences of their violent lives. While some Greasers try to achieve redemption, others meet tragic ends. **Written by a teenager about teenagers struggling with right and wrong in a society including social issues of teen pregnancy, underage drinking and violence.

Ali lives in Bed-Stuy, a Brooklyn neighborhood known for guns and drugs, but he and his sister, Jazz, and their neighbors, Needles and Noodles, stay out of trouble until they go to the wrong party, where one gets badly hurt and another leaves with a target on his back.

In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, Shorty, a poor, fifteen-year-old gang member from the slums of Site Soleil, is trapped in the rubble of a hospital and as he grows weaker, he has visions and memories of his life of violence, his lost twin sister, and of Toussaint L'Ouverture, who liberated Haiti from French rule in 1804.

Ali lives in Bed-Stuy, a Brooklyn neighborhood known for guns and drugs, but he and his sister, Jazz, and their neighbors, Needles and Noodles, stay out of trouble until they go to the wrong party, where one gets badly hurt and another leaves with a target on his back.

In 2083, seventeen-year-old Anya Balanchine seeks a way to make Balanchine Chocolate legitimate, and although a trip to Mexico gives her new insights and ideas, escaping her mobster family's legacy of violence may prove impossible.

In the California desert, fourteen-year-old Angel is on the run from the man who abused her, killed her mother, and intends to kill her too.

After being named a starter on his high school basketball team, Dylan finds that his girlfriend is being constantly threatened by a cyberbully who tells her to keep quiet, but they have no idea what she knows that is so dangerous.

High-schooler Jason, who lives with a drunk, abusive father at home, hopes to earn enough money to escape with his younger sister, Janie, by being tough at school, but the stakes grow ever more dangerous and soon even his fists and ability to think on his feet are not enough to keep his head above water.

In these three novellas, Gary Paulsen explores how children can survive the most difficult circumstances through art and the love of dogs.