https://hcpl.bibliocommons.com/events/69af3a878966a226aae16a20

By admin, Tue, 03/10/2026 - 04:00
Event Title
On Writing Beloved Characters and Powerful Portrayals of Resilience in Virtual Conversation with Jason Reynolds

Join us in an online conversation with bestselling author Jason Reynolds as we discuss his latest work, Coach, the fifth–and last–entry in the highly popular Track series. Following the immersive stories of Ghost, Lu, Patina, and Sunny, it’s finally time for Coach to shine in his own book as we discover: Who was Coach before he became an inspiring leader?

Before Coach was the man who gave caring yet firm-handed guidance to Ghost, Lu, Patina, and Sunny on the Defenders track team, he was little Otie Brody, who was obsessed with Mr. 9.99 (a.k.a. Carl Lewis) and Marty McFly from Back to the Future. Like Mr. 9.99—and his own dad—Otie is a sprinter. Sprint free or die is practically his motto.

Then his dad, who is always away on business trips, comes home with a pair of Jordans. JORDANS. Fine as fine can be. Otie puts them on and feels like he can leap to the moon…maybe even leap like Mr. 9.99 when he won the Olympic gold medal in the long jump. But one morning he wakes up to find his brand-new secret weapon kicks are missing—right off his feet! And Otie just might have a fuzzy memory of his dad easing them off as Otie was sleeping, but that can’t be right, can it?

Unless all the reasons for his dad’s “gone’s” are very different from what he’s been told… Because now, not only are the Jordans missing, but so is his father.

Register now to join in on the online conversation about the final installment to Jason Reynold’s Track series!

About the Author: Jason Reynolds is an award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author. Jason’s many books include Miles Morales: Spider Man, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Correta Scott King Honor, and Look Both Ways, which was a National Book Award Finalist. Recently named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason has appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and CBS This Morning. He is on faculty at Lesley University, for the Writing for Young People MFA Program and lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.

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Event Type
Books & Reading
Audience
Program
Language
Online Event
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Cancelled Event
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Contact Info
Jennifer R. Schwartz
+1-713-775-0868
jennifer.schwartz@hcpl.net
Registration Required
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Registration Full
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Registration Instructions

The Library Speakers Consortium program is part of our Authorama series. Registration is free to all HCPL patrons.

Please register here:

LSC | Watch | Harris County Public Library Webinars and Online Events

Full Schedule:

LSC | Upcoming Speakers | Harris County Public Library Webinars and Online Events (libraryc.org)

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Harris County Public Library.