Bullet Point

Bullet Point by Peter Abrahams is an absolute thriller.  I think it’s one of the best young adult books I've read in a long time. In this story, the only thing Wyatt Lathem has ever really liked about school is baseball.  So when his school cuts baseball from its budget, he decides to transfer Silver City, so that he can keep playing ball, only to discover that the school has already filled the only transfer spot they have on their team.  But, after exchanging blows with his step-father, Wyatt decides to transfer to Silver City, anyway.  Eventually he meets Greer, and through her he learns about his biological father, Sonny Racine.  A man he's never met, who's been severing a life prison sentence since before he was born, for a robbery that escalated into a murder.

Wyatt has never really been curious about his father, but after hearing bits and pieces from Greer, and doing a little investigating into the event that lead to his father’s imprisonment, he can't help but be interested.  Eventually, Wyatt goes to visit Sonny in prison, and the man's funny, smart, and cool; the complete opposite of what Wyatt expected.  Now that Wyatt has met the man, he can't help but think about his father's crime, and how it just doesn't seem to add up.  Wyatt can't help but wonder if Sonny's innocent, either, and with the help of Greer, he decides to help Sonny and find out the truth.  If you love a good mystery, and can handle a little bloodshed, I recommend that you read this book.