“Brimming with hard realities about the choices we make, the friendships we keep, and the unlikely allies we find along the way, this affecting novel helps to fill the gaping hole left by Walter Dean Myers’s passing.” — Booklist   “A taut, haunting tragedy.” — Kirkus Reviews   One young man searches for a place to call home in this gut-wrenching, honest novel from New York Times bestselling author Wes Moore and cowriter Shawn Goodman.   Elijah Thomas knows one thing better than anyone around him: basketball. But when a sinister street gang, Blood Street Nation, wants him and his team members to wear the Nation’s colors in the next big tournament, Elijah’s love of the game is soon thrown into jeopardy.   The boys gather their courage and take a stand against the gang, but at a terrible cost. Now Elijah must struggle to balance hope and fear, revenge and forgiveness, to save his neighborhood. For help, he turns to the most unlikely of friends: Banks, a gruff ex–military man, and his beautiful and ambitious daughter. Together, the three work on a plan to destroy Blood Street and rebuild the community they all call home.   This Way Home is a story about reclamation. It’s about taking a stand for what matters most, and the discovery that, in the end, hope, love, and courage are our most powerful weapons.   Gr 8 Up—Moore, who gained attention for his autobiographical The Other Wes Moore (Spiegel & Grau, 2010), turns to fiction, with mixed results. Seventeen-year-old Elijah is the best basketball player in his neighborhood. With his friends Michael and Dylan, he even has a chance to win the adult division of the local tournament. The finals are televised, and college scouts will be watching. That's why Blood Street Nation, a gang in their neighborhood, want the boys to play in their colors, or else. When the pressure turns deadly, Elijah must figure out how to break free. While the characterizations of Elijah and the people around him feel authentic, this realism is at odds with the overly formal and inconsistent narrative voice. The authors do a fine job of building tension throughout the story. However, the dramatic yet unbelievable ending, in which the villains are brought down in a deux ex machina fashion after cartoonishly explaining all the details of their secret plan to the main character, will frustrate readers. While we need more books with characters like Elijah and his friends, the poor execution of this title will leave readers cold. VERDICT A secondary purchase; offer teens books by Jason Reynolds instead.—Elizabeth Saxton, Tiffin, OH “Brimming with hard realities about the choices we make, the friendships we keep, and the unlikely allies we find along the way, this affecting novel helps to fill the gaping hole left by Walter Dean Myers’s passing. ” —Booklist   “ A taut, haunting tragedy. ”— Kirkus Reviews “ Moore ( Discovering Wes Moore ) and Goodman ( Kindness for Weakness ) present difficult circumstances in an even-handed manner , while messages about friendship, hard work, and the importance of having—and following—a dream are an organic part of the story, delivered without preaching.”— Publishers Weekly  WES MOORE is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and was a Rhodes Scholar. He was named one of the top young business leaders in America and has appeared on the cover of Time magazine, which featured him in the article "The New Greatest Generation." Wes lives in Baltimore with his wife and daughter. SHAWN GOODMAN is a writer and a school psychologist. His experiences working in several New York State juvenile detention facilities inspired him to write. Shawn lives in Ithaca, New York, with his wife and children. Visit him at ShawnGoodman.com. 1 From the vantage point of an old, splintered bench, Elijah focused his attention on the far court action, which was looking radically different from the safe, organized competition of his high school games. A meaty guy with prison tattoos carried the ball like a battering ram to the hoop. Elijah winced as the guy plowed over a kid from the opposing team and nearly knocked him out of his Jordans. The kid groaned as he wiped at his bloody knees; of course, no one called a foul. “Hey,” said Dylan, who was dressed in ridiculously oversized shorts and a T-shirt. “Hey yourself,” said Elijah, his eyes still fixed on the game. The guy with the tats had just dunked over the head of the other team’s equally beefy center. “Damn,” said Dylan. “Is that guy playing in Hoops?” “Yep,” said Elijah. “And you’re going to be guarding him.” “He looks like he just got out of prison,” said Dylan. “And you know what he was in for?” “Tell me,” said Elijah. “For killing the last skinny white boy who was stupid enough to guard him. Not everyone’s like you, you know.” “Meaning?” said Elijah. “Meaning I’m not six-four and carved out of steel. I don’t wanna be that dude’s next parole violation. No way.” Elijah laughed and held a fake microp