Way Past Cool
by Jess Mowry

Searing. Honest. Raw. Oakland, California. The ’hood is divided by invisible lines, but only those in the know can see them. The Friends and the Crew, two rival gangs, form an uneasy truce against Deek and his drugs, his Uzis and his Trans Am. Sixteen-year-old Ty is Deek’s bodyguard, but hates Deek and what he represents. All Ty wants is to keep his kid brother safe and provide for his mom, but Deek is pushing him way past cool. As Deek expands his territory by breaking the Rules, Ty’s brother, Danny, forges an alliance of his own with Lyon—a Friend and magic-boy. When Deek’s double-dealing threatens not just the Friends but Danny’s life as well, the smoldering tensions explode into a violent confrontation forcing Ty to face his own fears in order to claim his power—and decide what kind of a man he is destined to become.