Playground by 50 Cent

Butterball winds up having to talk with a therapist twice a week after beating up Maurice, someone Butterball thought was a friend.

Butterball is not happy with his life.  His mom NYC and away from his dad and he gets teased because of his weight. 

Until Butterball hits Maurice.  Now the popular guys are paying attention to him.  They want him to beat up another guy.  And home life is changing too, as Butterball begins to understand what's really going on with his mom.

A good story and thought out.  Not necessarily for reluctant readers like I thought at first.  There are some real issues here, and a good first teen novel for 50 Cent.

7 Days at the Hot Corner by Terry Trueman

Baseball is Scott's life. He plays 3rd base--the hot corner--and loves it. Baseball has always been his refuge.

Then his best friend, Travis, tells him he's gay. And Scott's life is turned upside down and all he can think about is what everyone else will think when they find out. Scott also worries he might have gotten HIV from Travis, who bled all over him a few months before. The HIV test takes 5 business days, 7 days total, for Scott to find out the truth. His entire future is in doubt--in his own mind anyway.

This begins the seven longest days of his life. In those seven days, Scott struggles to understand his friendship with Travis, his family, and still focus enough to win the state championship ball game.

A very short book that focuses on gays, HIV, baseball, divorce, and friendship. Scott isn't a likeable character right away--too self-absorbed. He grows on you.