Pull by B.A. Binns

David Albacore’s proverbial plate is overburdened and beginning to crack under the weight.  The tragic murder of his mother by his estranged father has him questioning his identity and desperate to hold his shattered family together.  He managed to finagle his and his sisters’ way into their aunt Edith’s tiny apartment - a situation he is sure will end the second he’s not bringing home enough money from his second shift construction job.  As if the universe intends to bury him, he is immediately on the wrong side of Malik, the volatile star of his new school’s basketball team, and falling hard for Yolanda Dare, Malik’s gorgeous girlfriend.  Will David be able to hold it all together long enough to graduate?  And if he does, then what?

Fans of Simone Elkeles’ Perfect Chemistry will enjoy this dramatic boy meets girl tale.  With a straightforward narrative, less sophisticated sentence structure, and a very readable mixture of basic language and slang, Pull is accessible to older, less sophisticated readers.  I can’t wait to read the recently released sequel. --Regan Schwartz

Edited to add that a teacher's guide is available here.

Binns, B.A. Pull.  Arlington Heights, IL: All the Color of Love Books, 2010. Print.