Skate by Michael Harmon

I knelt beside him and my eyes stung. "Sammy, I'm trying here. I hate this as much as you do, but we can't change it. Not like this. We just have to work, see? Just work hard, and it'll be fine."
Ian McDernmott is not cut out for Morrison High. He's not cut out for any of the things in his life- except for one thing. Taking care of his brother, Sammy.
He's a skater, a punk, the son of a drug addicted woman and a man who walked out before Sammy was born. He is a lot of things.
What he is not? He is not a sports player.
Therefore, the coaches at his sports-dependent school are basically out to get him. When one of them goes to far, Ian punches him in the face, and immediately becomes a criminal.
So he grabs his brother, and "skates". Runs. Runs for their safety, runs for their lives. At least the lives that they had then.
They have to trek to the border of Ohio, to find the only relative that they know is still alive, not including their mother.
But is running really the best option?
And if they find this man... will he be what they expected?
Inlaid in the middle of the of the brick-paged courtyard is the pride of the school: the Morrison High Vikings coat of arms. Every freshman is told in no uncertain terms that if a student is seen stepping onto the tiled emblem as they hustle to class, God himself will blast down past a screen of archangels, run a quick fishbook, and drive a pigskin torpedo through their head. FIre and brimstone be damned, it's the hallowed and speeding football that'll get you every time, and needless to say, I step on it every chance I get.
This was an incredibly excellent book. It was interesting, without being the type of exciting that wears you out, just by reading. It had adventure, conflict, and characters that made you want to keep reading.
It was, however, chock full of swear words. The d-word (which is actually in that quote up there... sorry!) was often used, and actually, so was the F-bomb. So... Be warned, when reading this, if you aren't allowed to, or do not wish to, read swear words.
Despite the swearing, and some... content that might dissuade those sensitive people... this was an awesome book, and I give it five stars.