A modern-day classic underdog story to share with middle graders alongside such favorites as Wonder, Holes, and Bridge to Terabithia.

Paul Fisher sees the world from behind glasses so thick he looks like a bug-eyed alien. But he's not so blind that he can't see there are some very unusual things about his family's new home in Tangerine County, Florida.

Where else does a sinkhole swallow the local school, fire burn underground for years, and lightning strike at the same time every day? The chaos is compounded by constant harassment from his football-star brother.

Adjusting to life in Tangerine isn't easy for Paul--until he joins the soccer team at his middle school. With the help of his new teammates, Paul begins to discover what lies beneath the surface of his strange new hometown. And he also gains the courage to face up to some secrets his family has been keeping from him for far too long.

In Tangerine, it seems, anything is possible.

"A richly imagined read about an underdog coming into his own." --BCCB

Paul Fisher's older brother is a high school football star, but to Paul he's no hero. Paul's own game is soccer, which he plays even though he has to wear thick glasses because of a mysterious eye injury. When the Fishers move to Tangerine, Florida, Paul tries to make sense of things. But it's not easy. In Tangerine, underground fires burn for years and lightning strikes the same practice field every day. Strange things happen here all the time -- but nothing is stranger than the secrets Paul discovers about his brother, his new group of friends, and his own dangerous past.

Bloor, Edward

Edward Bloor is the author many acclaimed novels, including Tangerine, Crusader, and Story Time. A former high school teacher, he lives near Orlando, Florida.
edwardbloor.net