Reynolds rounds out his “Track” series with books focusing on the characters of Sunny and Lu, members of same elite track team as the main characters in Ghost and Patina. In Sunny, reliable miler Sunny decides he’s done with that race. He felt pressure from his dad to run it as a tribute to Sunny’s mom, a former marathoner who died after giving birth to him 13 years before. That’s a hard truth to live with, but even though he always wins, Sunny finds no joy in running the mile. What he really wants to do is dance, and in a story told through Sunny’s diary entries, bursts of onomatopoeia reflect his love of rhythm and movement. Home-schooled, Sunny has a wonderful tutor in vibrant Aurelia, but there is little connection between Sunny and his distant dad. But while the Defender’s coach works at turning Sunny into a discus thrower, an event that relies on rhythm and timing, Sunny and his dad are gradually moving toward new and deeper emotional honesty. In Lu, Lu(cas) is adjusting to big news: His mom is pregnant. As he considers what it will mean to be a big brother, he learns something upsetting about his dad, a former drug dealer, involving the Defenders’ beloved coach. On the track, Lu and his co- captain are at odds, while Lu’s new event—hurdles—is vexing him: Every time he approaches a hurdle, he freezes. It isn’t until Coach takes advantage of Lu’s poor eyesight—a side effect of his albinism—and asks him to run essentially blind that Lu begins to soar, learning to trust himself. The two books continue to build on the relationship among the four title characters, all of who are African American, while developing the individual stories of Sunny and Lu and their immediate families. The richly developed, credible secondary characters further emphasize the importance of connection and family—both blood and formed—forgiveness, and deciding what really matters. (Ages 9–13)

“Pure gold.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
“The perfect anchor leg for a well-run literary relay.” —Kirkus Reviews

Lu must learn to leave his ego on the sidelines if he wants to finally connect with others in the climax to the New York Times bestselling and award-winning Track series from Jason Reynolds.

Lu was born to be cocaptain of the Defenders. Well, actually, he was born albino, but that’s got nothing to do with being a track star. Lu has swagger, plus the talent to back it up, and with all that—not to mention the gold chains and diamond earrings—no one’s gonna outshine him.

Lu knows he can lead Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and the team to victory at the championships, but it might not be as easy as it seems. Suddenly, there are hurdles in Lu’s way—literally and not-so-literally—and Lu needs to figure out, fast, what winning the gold really means.

Expect the unexpected in this final event in Jason Reynold’s award-winning and bestselling Track series.