Ace Hits the Big Time (Can’t Stop Ace), by Barbara Murphy, Judie Wolkoff
I remember reading this book when I was a kid, I think in middle school, during library class. I found the book funny and meaningful, and I wish I could re-read it. The fact I still remember it all these years later says something– it struck me as being similar to several urban/boy books I read around that time, like Rumble Fish and The Contender.
Perhaps I’ll get it for one of the kids and re-read it before sending. It was such a great read. I mean, how can you not love a book where the kid with a name like Horace goes to his first day in a new school wearing a stupid embroidered dragon jacket, an eyepatch, and carrying a bagel in his pocket and ends up being the coolest kid in the local gang? As the school bottom-nerd, I loved this book for its unrealistic portrayal of social acceptance.
Even better: there are sequels!