Overdrive (7 page)

And that's when I realized there was someone standing near the end of the wall, watching me. I looked up. My mouth went dry. It was a man with a baseball bat
.

Zee and his friends are angry, upset that they are not welcome at a new strip mall and that their old haunt has been replaced by stores that are off-limits to them and by storekeepers who treat them with distrust and disdain.

To get back at the merchants, and to let them know what he and his friends think, Zee paints graffiti on the wall of the hardware store. After the wall is repainted, Zee decides to repeat the vandalism, but this time with more artistic flair. When the store owner catches him in the act, he threatens to call the police—unless Zee agrees to repair the damage.

Orca Soundings

Death Wind
by William Bell

Allie's life has just taken a turn for the worse. Not only do her parents fight all the time, but she is failing more classes than not and now she thinks she just might be pregnant. Unable to face up to her parents, she decides to run away. She hooks up with her old friend Razz, a professional skateboarder, and goes on the road. Razz is ranked number one, but constant confrontations with the challenger, Slammer, put Allie in some dangerous situations.

With the rivalry heating up, Razz and Allie head toward home—right into the path of a fierce tornado. To survive in the horror and destruction that follow the storm, Allie has to call on an inner strength she didn't know she had.

Orca Soundings

Sticks and Stones
by Beth Goobie

No one expects Jujube to fight back when her reputation takes a beating
.

Jujube is thrilled when Brent asks her out. She is not so happy when the rumors start flying at school. Pretty soon her name is showing up on bathroom walls, and everyone is snickering and sniping. When her mother gets involved, Jujube's reputation takes another hit. Deciding that someone has to take a stand, Jujube gathers all the other girls who are labeled sluts—and worse—and tries to impress on her fellow students the damage that can be done by assigning a label that reduces a person to an object.

Sticks and Stones
is an inspiring—and enlightening—story about standing up for oneself and the importance of self-esteem and respect for others.

Other titles in the ORCA SOUNDINGS series

Blue Moon
by Marilyn Halvorson

Bull Rider
by Marilyn Halvorson

Death Wind
by William Bell

Fastback Beach
by Shirlee Smith Matheson

The Hemingway Tradition
by Kristin Butcher

Hit Squad
by James Heneghan

Kicked Out
by Beth Goobie

No Problem
by Dayle Campbell Gaetz

One More Step
by Sheree Fitch

Overdrive
by Eric Walters

Refuge Cove
by Lesley Choyce

Sticks and Stones
by Beth Goobie

Thunderbowl
by Lesley Choyce

Tough Trails
by Irene Morck

The Trouble With Liberty
by Kristin Butcher

Truth
by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Who Owns Kelly Paddik?
by Beth Goobie

Zee's Way
by Kristin Butcher