Criss Cross

Winner of the Newbery Medal • New York Times Bestseller • An ALA Notable Book • An ALA Best Book for Young Adults • School Library Journal Best Book • Booklist Editors’ Choice • Kirkus Reviews Editors’ Choice • Horn Book Fanfare Book • New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age In this acclaimed, award-winning, and timeless national bestseller, Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins explores the crisscrossing lives of four teenagers on the verge of adulthood. The unique format incorporates short vignettes, haiku, Q&As, and illustrations by the author. Written with love and humor, Criss Cross is an unforgettable story of friendship, family, and growing up. “It’s hard to write a book this good. Lynne Rae Perkins makes it seem easy.”—Kevin Henkes, New York Times–bestselling author of the Newbery Honor Books Olive’s Ocean and The Year of Billy Miller “Brilliantly captures the adolescent-level Zen that thoughtful kids bring to their assessment of the world.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review) “Best of all are the understated moments, often private and piercing in their authenticity, that capture intelligent, likable teens searching for signs of who they are, and who they’ll become.”—ALA Booklist (starred review) “Written with humor and modest bits of philosophy, the writing sparkles with inventive, often dazzling metaphors.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Like a lazy summer day, the novel induces that exhilarating feeling that one has all the time in the world.”—The Horn Book (starred review) “A gentle story about a group of childhood friends facing the crossroads of life and how they wish to live it. Young teens will certainly relate.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

When a mysterious serial killer known as "M" launches a deranged "investigation", Alex Cross and his partner must unearth long-forgotten secrets to survive -- or risk getting buried themselves. In a Virginia penitentiary, Alex Cross and his partner, John Sampson, witness the execution of a killer they helped convict. Hours later, they are called to the scene of a copycat crime. A note signed "M" rests on the corpse. "You messed up big time, Dr. Cross." Was an innocent man just put to death? Alex soon realizes he may have much to answer for, as "M" lures the detective out of the capital to the sites of multiple homicides, all marked with distressingly familiar details -- details that conjure up decades-old cases. Details that conjure up Cross family secrets. Details that make clear that M is after a prize so dear that -- were the killer to attain it -- Alex's heart would no longer have reason to beat.

The City of Brotherly Love is stunned by the sniper killing of an EMS Technician as he administers aid to victims of a previous shooting. Walter Spotsman (Spots), is a hardened Chief of Detectives with the Philadelphia Police Department. A dying man's whisper, 'criss cross', echoes a chapter of Spots' past, and projects him into a harrowing chase for justice. Unlike most Chief of D's, Spots personally takes charge of the investigation, engaging in a tenacious pursuit to apprehend the shooter. Utilizing his Marine sniper experience, Spots tries to anticipate every move of the shooter responsible for the cold blooded murder of his close friend and EMS Technician, Vince Scardini. When the river docks and the Badlands of Philly become the final venue of the chase, the two legged rats of the city comprehend Spots' true tenacity.

PSYCHOLOGICAL URBAN SUSPENSE THRILLER Nikki Ling is half Black and Japanese. She’s independent, street-smart, and the daughter of a sex worker. Living on the mean streets of New York, she’s forced to make a living the only way she knows how. When a wealthy South African Diplomat asks for her hand in marriage, things get brighter. Until she realizes that the soft-spoken, reserved gentleman is pathological, kinky, and sadistic. One day she meets a mysterious stranger who approaches her with the Criss Cross. Is the Criss Cross her ticket to a better life? Or will the Criss Cross ultimately become the double-cross? THE CRISS CROSS ISN’T DONE YET! THE OLD GANG FROM LIFE, LOVE, AND LONELINESS HAVE SOME UNFINISHED BUSINESS TO RESOLVE. IN THIS PAGE-TURNING NOVEL, SEE HOW THE DRAMA UNFOLDS FOR LYRIC, LACEY, MADISON, JOSHUA, AND ESTELLE.

Star Girl flies again in this sequel to the bestselling, award-winning Sophie Sea to Sea. Starting her new classes at the new French school in British Columbia, Sophie is happy to escape the old Alderson Avenue School where stuck-up Elizabeth Proctor and her friends rule. But trouble develops when the teachers go on strike and Sophie is forced back into Alderson. Will she have to endure as an outcast? Or will she, like Star Girl, save the day with a daring rescue?

Students get insight into themselves while reading about this group of teenagers' journey to self-discovery. Incorporate a variety of challenging questions dealing with opinions of the reader as well as asking for evidence from the text to support those opinions. Come up with reasons why most people tend to be reluctant to speak their mind. Identify what motivated Pastor Don to give free guitar lessons. Students find quotations that may appear next to their picture in a yearbook and reflect on how it applies to them. Write complete sentences using vocabulary words found in the text. Design an information card for the Rhododendron plant. List the main events from the novel in the order in which they happened on a Sequence Chart. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Criss Cross is a Newbery Medal-winning story about several teenage characters living in the small town of Seldem in the 1970s. The story intersects between several characters, each with their own issues and each one trying to discover who they are as individuals. There is the shy, introspective Debbie; the multitalented Lenny; the nerdy, guitar-playing Hector; and the brainy, all-together sister of Hector, Rowanne. Criss Cross is a story that deals with first love, the importance of communication among friends and family, self-identity, and coming-of-age. Each character is portrayed in a refreshingly unique and poignant manner, creating a novel that is both humorous and thought-provoking throughout.

Kinley and Sweeney are Secret Service agents sent to a tiny island in the Pacific used as a checkpoint by the military. The natives there have assaulted numerous American agents stationed there, at the behest of an enemy agent named Peretti.