A.J. starts sixth grade with a big secret: She is too worried about her family falling apart to care about seeing friends and meeting new teachers. Jump Ball is the coming-of-age story about Adrianna, an athletic, artistic girl forced to grow up early and deal with serious issues. Over the summer, her parents came home drunk one night and had a terrible fight, ending with her dad hitting her mom, knocking her down and leading to a trip to the emergency room. A.J.'s dad was arrested, and the family, which includes her brother and grandfather, didn't see him for months. Her brother took off in the car, got high and crashed. He survived but was sent to rehabilitation. A.J., who always had a strong relationship with her brother and played basketball with him, even thinks about giving up the sport.

A.J. must rely on her inner voice and strength to work things out. At times shestumbles, going down the wrong path. She starts to use alcohol and gives up onbasketball. She takes her mother for granted, and her grades start to slip. Butthrough court intervention, the help of her beloved grandfather and somecounseling, she begins to straighten out. A.J. discovers talents she never realized she had and redevelops her love of sports. She is allowed to live with her father and brother. What does the future hold for Adrianna? Only she knows whether she has the strength to build a better life.

In Jump Ball, author Vicki Drewa shows the importance of seeking guidance forlife's serious problems. Instead of following a bad path on their own, those introuble should seek help from someone they trust, whether it's a coach, guidancecounselor, family member, religious leader or neighbor.

Vicki Drewa grew up in a small town in northeastern Wisconsin. She fit in mostwhen playing sports, starting with summer sports when she was 9. She playedbasketball from sixth grade through high school and was on the track team fromseventh grade through college. Drewa was fortunate to have a coach from juniorhigh through high school who helped keep her focused, showing her she coulduse her talents to move forward in life. After graduating from college, Drewacoached several teams in her hometown. A few years later, she moved to Chicagoand earned a teaching degree. Drewa has been an elementary school teacher since1999 and continues to coach.