Total Knockout
Authors: Taylor Morris
Cooper “Gravy” Nixon just nailed me with a left hook to the shoulder.
It knocked me back a step, but I regained my stance, my pink gloves on either side of my face. I needed to focus, but I kept thinking about tomorrow, when I'd become president of Angus Junior High.
T
here's nothing ordinary about thirteen-year-old Lucia Latham. She gets straight
As
, loves health food, and is a great boxer. Nothing is more fun than a good old sparring match with her best friend, Cooper, especially since she usually wins.
What Lucia wants most, though, aside from a new job for her dad, is to work in the White House somedayâand she's on the right track. She's been junior high class president for two years running, and as eighth grade starts she is about to be elected for the third year in a row, an occurrence she would like to point out is unprecedented. In short, there are few things Lucia tackles that don't turn out exactly the way she wants them, and she has no reason to suspect that this year will be any different.
But no sooner is she elected three-peat president than she's nearly impeached!
Also
an unprecedented occurrence. What's an ex-president to doâespecially when it's all her fault? Can Lucia rebuild her carefully constructed world in time to save not only her political reputation but also her own self-image?
If you liked
Total Knockout
,
then you'll love
Class Favorite
.
ALADDIN MIX Simon & Schuster, New York
Cover designed by Jessica Sonkin
Cover illustration copyright © 2008 by Bill Brown
Ages 9â13 0908
www.SimonandSchuster.com
TOTAL
KNOCKOUT
ALSO BY
TAYLOR MORRIS
Class Favorite
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN MIX
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Copyright © 2008 by Taylor Morris
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ALADDIN PAPERBACKS, ALADDIN MIX, and related logo are registered
trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Designed by Jessica Sonkin
The text of this book was set in Bembo.
First Aladdin Paperbacks edition September 2008
Library of Congress Control Number 2008929037
ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-3599-5 (print)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4424-5929-8 (eBook)
ISBN-10: 1-4169-3599-1
To the Lathams
Thanks to all the girls in my summer 2007 writing workshop who gave me brilliant advice and tons of encouragement, especially Sarah Deming, who is too smart and caring for words, and Bridie Harrington, who is as sweet as she is talented. Thank you Jeff Holland for the sports advice you gave that was crucial to the story. Finally, thanks once again to my editor Molly McGuireâNew York will never be the same without you!
Cooper “Gravy” Nixon just nailed me with a left hook to the shoulder.
It knocked me back a step, but I regained my stance, my pink gloves on either side of my face. I jabbed right, narrowly missing his chin. He returned the punch, but I weaved around it, then went for an uppercut. Cooper dodged that, too, which frustrated me even more. I knew I was on the verge of losing control. We'd been knocking each other pretty steadily for three two-minute rounds, and we were both sweating and breathing heavily. I needed to focus, but I kept thinking about tomorrow, when I'd become president of Angus Junior High for the third year in a row, the first student to ever accomplish such a feat. Future generations of Angus Blue Jays would revere the name Lucia Latham.
That's me, by the way.
I refocused my energy and upped my momentum, finally landing some solid body shotsâand maybe even hitting my best friend a little harder than we normally allowed. But how could he blame me? I was all pumped up on the adrenaline of my final year at Angus Junior High and leaving my mark, my
legacy
, on our school. With each jab I saw my student council victory; with each hook I imagined my eighth-grade year a stunning success; with every uppercut, I envisioned my classmates cheering for my victory.