The F Words

by Barbara Gregorich

Overview

Flexibility
in the claws of injustice
doesn’t mean we slide
free, escaping their pain, but
that we mend to rise again.
 
Sophomore Cole Renner knows teamwork inside and out from running cross-country at his multi-ethnic Chicago public school. He knows about braving the elements and not getting passed in the chute. What Cole doesn't know is how much he'll need all of his mental and physical skills when the doors of Cook County Jail slam shut on his father, a community activist; when his English teacher catches Cole tagging the school with the F word and assigns him to write two poems a week, each on a word that starts with F; when his best friend Felipe Ramirez runs for class president against the girl who dumped him; when the school bully prowls the halls looking for Cole and the principal seems more interested in punishing Cole than the bully. As much as Cole wants to win meets, what he wants, even more, is justice—for his father, for himself, for Felipe, and for his fellow students. Cole learns that actions matter, but so do words. He takes his written words (Spanish and English) and turns them into the right words to fight for justice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781952536267
Publisher:	City of Light Publishing
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Pages:	365
Sales rank:	658,796
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	HL560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Barbara Gregorich is the author of numerous baseball books, including the novel She’s on First and the nonfiction Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball. She has written middle-grades books such as Jack and Larry and Cookie the Cockatoo: Everything Changes. The F Words honors the important role that young people play in movements for social change.

Editorial Reviews

"I have wondered for a long time where the YA stories with young-person-as-activist have been hiding, or waiting to be written. Wait no more. I love the way this book captures the advice out there to think globally by acting locally. Cole is a model character for our time, and for readers of all ages.” —Chris Tebbetts, co-author of the #1 NYTimes bestselling MIDDLE SCHOOL series with James Patterson

“In The F Words, Gregorich’s beautifully crafted, diverse characters use the power of words to fight racism and injustice. They tackle today’s issues in a take-your-breath-away page turner that teens will want to read in one sitting. I hope this finds its way into every high school classroom.” —Roxanne F. Owens, PhD, Chair, Teacher Education DePaul University College of Education; Editor, Illinois Reading Council Journal

“Freakin’ Fantastic! A beautiful and powerful book.” —Jonathan Eig, Author of Ali: A Life, PEN/ESPN Award, Named Best Book of the Year by Sports Illustrated; NAACP Image Award Finalist; Author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, Casey Award Winner

"It is completely refreshing to read a book about a good kid making restitution for doing a bad thing while figuring out constructive ways to deal with injustice… The F Words is an enlightening book for middle and high school…I recommend it." —Windy City Reviews

"The author admirably showcases the power young people hold when they come together and speak out against a biased system. A timely novel about empowered teens." —Kirkus Reviews

"The F Words powerfully and cleverly highlights how injustice, both personal and political, becomes a catalyst for high-schooler Cole Renner to change his own life —and that of his fellow students." —Robert Burleigh, Winner of the Prairie State Award presented by the Illinois Reading Council

"Barbara Gregorich has given us a politically admirable story about young people fighting injustice. It is not only inspirational; it is also an entertaining read. Lively, clever, believable, and witty–The F Words is a genuine page-turner." —Bruce Levine, Author of The Fall of the House of Dixie

From the Publisher

2021-07-27
A boy, infuriated with injustices in his world and community, learns how to fight back.

Cole Renner is a White sophomore at August Mersy High School in Chicago. His principal has labeled him a troublemaker for daring to take action against injustices—just like his father, who is currently a prisoner in Cook County Jail after leading a protest to save a neighborhood public school. Struggling with his father’s recent sentencing, Cole lashes out and spray-paints the F-word multiple times on school property. Caught by Mr. Nachman, his English teacher, he is offered a choice: face suspension or clean it off and write two poems every week about other words starting with F. Choosing the latter option, Cole writes about the injustices that surround him and his schoolmates, who are of diverse cultural backgrounds. Despite his initial reluctance, he finds solace in poetry, and it becomes an outlet for each new wrong that Cole and those he cares about face. The teen characters’ discussions of issues such as deportation and racism may inspire young readers who are fed up with witnessing inequities, though this first-person novel tackles many concepts in its five-month timeline, causing events to be rushed and detracting from some of their impact. However, the author admirably showcases the power young people hold when they come together and speak out against a biased system.

A timely novel about empowered teens. (discussion guide) (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews