Leaving Dirty Jersey

Written with heartbreaking insight and wicked humor, "Leaving Dirty Jersey" chronicles Salant's descent from wealth and privilege into a year of crystal meth addiction and crime.

When seventeen-year-old T. J. Parsell held up the local Photo Mat with a toy gun, he was sentenced to four and a half to fifteen years in prison. The first night of his term, four older inmates drugged Parsell and took turns raping him. When they were through, they flipped a coin to decide who would "own" him. Forced to remain silent about his rape by a convict code among inmates (one in which informers are murdered), Parsell's experience that first night haunted him throughout the rest of his sentence. In an effort to silence the guilt and pain of its victims, the issue of prisoner rape is a story that has not been told. For the first time Parsell, one of America's leading spokespeople for prison reform, shares the story of his coming of age behind bars. He gives voice to countless others who have been exposed to an incarceration system that turns a blind eye to the abuse of the prisoners in its charge. Since life behind bars is so often exploited by television and movie re-enactments, the real story has yet to be told. Fish is the first breakout story to do that.

From cult comedy icon and beloved radio host Tom Scharpling, an inspiring, funny, and thoughtful memoir It Never Ends is Tom Scharpling’s harrowing memoir of his coming of age, a story he has never told before. It’s the heartbreaking account of his attempt at suicide, two stays in a mental hospital, and the memory-wiping electroshock therapy that saved his life. After his rehabilitation, Scharpling committed himself to reinvention through the world of comedy. In this book he will lift the curtain on the turmoil that still follows him, despite all of his accolades and achievements. In the vein of candid memoirs from comedians like Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk with Me and Norm Macdonald's Based on a True Story, It Never Ends is a revealing book by a beloved comedy icon.

From zero to hero What's cool at Eric Posey's high school? A player's swagger, a baller's style, and game enough to catch every girl. Unfortunately, Eric is seriously uncool—unlike his popular sister, Kenya, who sings like an angel. But forget the choir; Kenya wants the fabulous life—bad boys and fly girls. A chance encounter with Fiasco, one of the hottest rappers around, gives Eric entre into the world of the "Dirty Jersey" crew, where he's introduced to everyone and everything. Suddenly, Eric is cool and has access to anything he's ever wanted. Never mind that Fiasco isn't exactly a good guy— so what? But so what has a price. And Fiasco has just named it: Kenya.

Compiles and annotates YALSA's "Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults" and "Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers." Includes theme lists.