My friends say I’m like a bull in a china shop when I play sports.  I tell them that my bruised knees and elbows never hurt when we win.  Our dads helped us put together our neighborhood team—The Broadway Ballplayers—and we’re not just playing in the new summer league, we’re going to win it.  We’ll take on anybody and everybody—Big Shiela, J.J., Beef Potato and all the boys, any game, any time.

Read the first chapter.

Buy It! Release date Nov. 28, 2000

Some kids told me they’d pay cold cash just to have one of my nicknames.  Even the big-talking boys begged me for games of one-on-one.  Audiences crowded the courts as I smiled politely, racked up my points, and took care of my basketball business.  The fans always rooted for me, which was cool, but I needed a break from the hoops spotlight.  I thought going to soccer camp with the Ballplayers would give me a chance to live in someone else’s shadow for once.  But when we arrived, the coaches pegged me as the superstar the second I stepped out of the car.  Soon I found myself running with a few campers who bent the rules…

Read the first chapter.

Buy It! Release date Nov. 28, 2000

The coaches and parents didn’t even bother to whisper.  To them, I was not an all-star.  I was the girl playing shortstop.  I was the girl up to bat.  I was the easy out.  For weeks, I went to practice and stared down a coach who lobbed me the ball and stuck me on the bench.  Then I went home to a father who told me I needed to play harder and study more.  Nothing I did on the field or in school was ever enough.  One day I stood up at the plate with what felt like three strikes already against me.  It came down to one pitch, one swing…one moment to prove them all wrong.

Read the first chapter.

Buy It! Release date April 1, 2001

All my coach had to do was open her eyes.  Then she’d see my all-star, MVP, All-American potential and I could start filling up my trophy case.  Yet for reasons beyond my comprehension, I ended up riding the pine and singing the blues. Then my volleyball woes took a back seat to the task of bringing the gold home to Broadway Ave. in the Brightest stars academic competition.  While my dad worked double shifts to pay the bills, I knew my mother was watching over me from heaven.  I had to get in the game and I had to win.

Read the first chapter.

Buy It! Release date Dec. 1, 2001

I sprinted from soccer to cross-country practice, quietly reminding myself what I had to do make it through the season.  Staying in motion was the only way to keep the pain in my feet under control.  If my friends or coaches found out how badly my feet hurt, they’d prevent me from playing both sports, from doing the only things that could take my mind off the other big secret:  the problems my parents were having.  I had to keep running…

Find out more about the book!
Read the first chapter.

Buy It! Release date Aug. 4, 2001

Dawn Miller and Eddie Thomas must have “get under Molly’s skin” at the top of their favorite things to do.  But I’m not the only victim.  They’re out to terrorize everyone—the meek, the mild and of course, the mouthy like me.  Somebody’s got to put an end to this bully business.  I know, I know, no fights.  I’ve already been warned.  I came up with a better plan:  form a hockey team and beat Dawn and Eddie at their favorite game. The Ballplayers and I are going to bully bust Lincoln School.

Read the first chapter.

Buy It! Release date April 1, 2002

With the first girls’ football league kicking off, my family could just go without me.  I assured them I would be perfectly happy living in my best friend’s basement, close enough to the park where we had to put an end to that powder-puff stuff. With full pads and helmets is the only way my friends and I play football.  Aside from scoring touchdowns, I had some serious off-the-field business.  The Ballplayers and I had to score with Operation I’m Not Moving to keep my cleats on Broadway Ave.

Find out more about the book!
Read the first chapter.

Buy It! Release date Aug. 1, 2002