COURAGE

In this fresh 'Own Voices' contemporary novel, twelve-year-old aspiring diver, T'Shawn, has his world turned upside down when his older brother returns home from prison and fears that their relationship is beyond repair.

Ever since his father died of cancer, medical bills have piled up and the family stress of T'Shawn's brother in prison has only compounded things. T'Shawn finds that diving at the local community pool is something he can focus on and do well. But to join the fancy swim club costs as much as the rent for his family's apartment on the Southside of Chicago. T is bummed when his mom says they cannot afford it. But disappointment turns to frustration when he finds that his swim club funds are going to Lamont, T'Shawn's older brother who is getting out of prison early.

Eager to distance himself from his brother, who has invaded every inch of his space, T finds a way to become a diver. Thanks to a scholarship, he begins training and learns that his new coach is not Lamont's biggest fan. And when criminal activity increases in the neighborhood, people start blaming Lamont, and T gets distracted. He begins to worry that his brother has not left his criminal past behind him. And every night his brother sneaks out into the dead of night, T struggles to hold onto the hope that they can put the broken pieces of their damaged relationship back together.

Barbara Binns grew up on Chicago's south side and now lives and writes in a suburb of the city. She frequently contributes to the Arlington Almanac, a quarterly publication in Arlington Heights, Illinois. She speaks to students, teachers, and librarians across the country at conferences and other events.