Twelve-year-old Trevor has an adult problem to deal with: how to protect himself, his sisters, and his mother from his abusive stepfather (currently in prison) and he thinks the way to do that is to take up boxing--although he would really rather draw.

Told in assonant free verse, Levi was once a premature baby who suffered from respiratory problems; he recovered, and now in seventh grade, he struggles to demonstrate to his divorced mother and overprotective brother that he is okay--so when his father suggests he take up boxing he falls in love with the sport, but he still must find a way to convince his family to set him free to follow his dream.

In Paris, France, more than a hundred years ago, a small man named Lalouche is let go from his job as a mail carrier and discovers that he has great skill as a fighter.

Henry Cimoli and Spenser have been friends for years, yet the old boxing trainer has never asked the private eye for a favor. Until now. A heavy-handed developer is trying to buy up Henry's condo on Revere Beach and sends thugs to move the process along. Soon Spenser and his apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, find a trail leading to a mysterious and beautiful woman, a megalomaniacal Las Vegas kingpin, and plans to turn to a chunk of land north of Boston...

Paulina, nicknamed Feather, leaves her piano to take up boxing, showing her father and brothers that she will stand up for herself.

After not being allowed to take a boxing class at her school because she is a girl, Fleur deals with bullying and disapproval in her quest to set things right and ensure equal opportunity for all students.

After being elected junior high school president for the third time in a row, determined and driven Lucia has got her life on track, but when she gets impeached, Lucia must figure out what she needs to do to get back in the game.

Features literary excerpts and articles written by sportswriters and authors that celebrate one hundred years of American boxing.

Tyler Josten has never caught a break. Abandoned by his mother, physically and emotionally abused by his father, he grows up with a wild temper, fighting anyone he sees as a bully -- including the police. When he gets into trouble with the law, his grandmother gives up on him, and he is placed in foster care to wait for his court date. The Conways welcome Tyler into the kind of home he never imagined, one full of comfort and compassion. When Wayne...