Coccia, Paul

"In this high-interest accessible novel for middle-grade readers, twelve-year-old Leon, a short and chubby gamer, is shocked when the cool kid invites him to test out a not-yet-released virtual reality video game. When a glitch puts them in real-life danger, it's up to Leon to battle a dragon and save himself and his friend"--Provided by publisher.

"Mac convinces his best friend, Amy, to do a Sonny and Cher drag number. . . . He wants their performance to be perfect too so he pushes Amy to rehearse every day. Every step, every wave of the hand, every lyric has to be spot on. But Amy has had enough--the day before the event, she reveals that she never wanted to be Sonny. Why can't she be Cher? . . . With no time to recast, Mac plans to go solo. But he's miserable without his best friend. Can the two of them patch things up in time?"--OCLC.

All Jordie wanted was for his parents to stop fighting. Soon, he gets his wish. His parents separate and then his dad announces he's gay. Shocked, Jordie struggles with how to process all this. His dad taught him everything he knows about basketball, and there's an important championship game coming up. He needs him more than ever. But Jordie feels like his dad has abandoned his family. He doesn't want anything to do with him now and he definitely doesn't want to meet his dad's new boyfriend. It takes a new girl with wicked basketball skills and a revelation from his best friend to help Jordie realize that while some things change, other things never do"--OCLC.

Set in the traditionally homophobic world of amateur hockey, this book follows gay goalie Cooper in his struggle with his feelings for a teammate and coming out to his team. Cooper has been hooking up with teammate Pesh in secret, and has to play along when Pesh dates a girl and even tolerate locker-room homophobic talk. When Pesh outs Cooper online, trying to better his own chances at playing pro, Cooper chooses self-esteem and honesty over sex. With a strong and relatable main character, this book is a realistic, positive look at teen relationships: gay or straight.

"Cooper has been hooking up with teammate Pesh in secret, and has to play along when Pesh dates a girl and even tolerate locker-room homophobic talk. When Pesh outs Cooper online, trying to better his own chances at playing pro, Cooper chooses self-esteem and honesty over sex"--Amazon.

"In the gay community, a young, husky man is known as a "cub" Seventeen-year-old Theo fits the definition perfectly, but he is very self-conscious about his body. So when his best friend signs him up for a cooking competition at Heat, the city's newest trendy restaurant, Theo is nervous. He's confident in his baking ability, and dreams of opening his own bakery one day, but he's not a chef, and he hates being in the spotlight. As Theo survives round after round, he gains the admiration of both the audience and the restaurant owner, a sexy celebrity chef known as KCC. When the owner makes it clear he is more interested in what Theo might do outside the kitchen, Theo has to decide how far he is willing to go to launch his career." --.