The Bluford Series is a Proven Gateway to Reading

Millions of teens have discovered or rediscovered the joy of reading with the Bluford Series. Here’s why:

• Relatable topics: Characters in the Bluford Series face situations that middle- and high-schoolers care about, making them want to read.
• Immersive stories: Bluford books tell gripping stories that are also connected to other books in the series. Readers become part of a realistic, multifaceted world that they are invited to explore.
• Uplifting themes: Each book celebrates teens who make positive choices, especially when such actions are difficult or unpopular.
• Engaging writing: This groundbreaking hi-lo series has content sophisticated enough for high-school students, while its reading level is accessible to students reading at approximately the fifth- to sixth-grade level.
• Short length: Each novel in the Bluford Series contains fewer than 200 pages, motivating readers to finish their books—a pivotal step toward becoming regular readers!
• Exciting content: Action, suspense, mystery, and romance fill the pages of the Bluford Series, offering something for all readers.
• Proven success: Students, teachers, parents, librarians, researchers, and policymakers agree: The Bluford Series can help nonreaders become avid readers.

The Bluford Series Starter Pack contains these stories:

• Lost and Found: The first book in the Bluford Series, Lost and Found centers on the life of Bluford sophomore Darcy Wills. Darcy contends with the return of her long-absent father, the troubling behavior of her younger sister Jamee, and the beginning of her first relationship.
• A Matter of Trust: Sequel to Lost and Found, this book centers on Darcy's growing conflict with her old friend, Brisana Meeks. Amid jealousy and competition, Darcy fights for her relationship with Hakeem Randall and struggles with her fears over her own family's future.
• Secrets in the Shadows: This book focuses on Roylin Bailey, a Bluford sophomore who appears in A Matter of Trust. Roylin makes a terrible mistake: He steals money to buy a gift for the girl of his dreams and finds himself in a nightmare he cannot escape.
• Someone to Love Me: This, the fourth Bluford novel, is about Cindy Gibson, a freshman who first appears in Lost and Found. Cindy struggles with a stormy relationship with her mother, ongoing trouble at school, a dangerous boyfriend, and worse. Will her fragile family survive?
• The Bully: Darrell Mercer, a 9th grader at Bluford High, is at the center of this classic Bluford story. Darrell and his mother move to the Bluford area in the middle of the school year. Physically smaller than his peers, Darrell quickly becomes a target for Tyray Hobbs, the freshman class bully.