Polak, Monique

New Directions is an alternative school, a last-chance school in Montreal's roughest neighborhood. The kids are tough but the worst thing is the curriculum---50 present academics and 50 percent boxing. Most students think boxing is cool but Tessa disagrees. When a neighbor starts a petition to have new directions closed down, Tess begins to appreciate fighting for something she believes in---both in and out of the ring.

"Iris is sorry. Sorry that she no longer hangs out with her BFF. Sorry that she's not closer to her mother. But most of all, she's sorry she makes Mick angry. If all the world's a stage, then Iris's life has become a violent drama, starring a man whose fists are at odds with the eloquence of his words"--Back cover.

Pete has to pull the most important prank of his life to bring about justice.

Lucas is determined to be part of the popular crowd at his new school and put his reputation as a "brainiac" behind him, but he discovers that there is a limit to what he is willing to do to fit in.

Tim loves his job at the family pet store because he gets to spend time with a black cockatoo named Elmo, but he questions his father's leadership when a bird is stolen during a public event.

Franklin has to learn to cope with life's challenges without setting illegal fires.

Noah Thorpe goes to live with his father in George River, in Quebec's far north, for the school term, and finds that he will need to learn some lessons from some of his Inuit friends if he is to survive the harsh winter.

Dedicated, competitive Montreal swimmer Victoria Miller finds help in a surprising place when her home life, troubled by her mother's depression and her father's workaholism, suddenly gets worse.

Yolande's much older new boyfriend, Etienne, asks her to go on a date with another guy, leading her into the dark world of teenage prostitution.