But as he practices for this new event, can he let go of everything that’s been eating him up inside? About The Author Then, in a stroke of genius only Jason Reynolds can conceive, Sunny discovers a track event that encompasses the hard beats of hip-hop, the precision of ballet, and the showmanship of dance as a whole: the discus throw. But you also can’t be on a track team and dance. But you can’t be on a track team and not run. With his relationship with his dad now worse than ever, the last thing Sunny wants to do is leave the other newbies-his only friends-behind.

But Sunny doesn’t like running, never has. It seems the only thing Sunny can do right in his dad’s eyes is win first place ribbons running the mile, just like his mom did. His mother died giving birth to him, and based on how Sunny’s dad treats him-ignoring him, making Sunny call him Darryl, never “Dad”-it’s no wonder Sunny thinks he’s to blame. Or at least he thinks of himself that way. But his life hasn’t always been sun beamy-bright. Always ready with a goofy smile and something nice to say, Sunny is the chillest dude on the Defenders team. Sunny is the main character in this novel, the third of four books in Jason Reynold’s electrifying middle grade series.

They all have a lot to lose, but they all have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team-a team that could take them to the state championships. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds, with personalities that are explosive when they clash.

You can find his ramblings at tries to shine despite his troubled past in this third novel in the critically acclaimed Track series from National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin) and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely) When I Was the Greatest The Boy in the Black Suit Stamped As Brave as You For Every One the Track series ( Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu) Look Both Ways Stuntboy, in the Meantime Ain’t Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. He was also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, and the Margaret A.

Sunny track series