Dough Boys

In the companion to her lauded middle grade debut,So Done, Paula Chase follows best friends Simp and Rollie as their friendship is threatened by the pressures of basketball, upcoming auditions, middle school, and their growing involvement in the local drug ring.Dough Boysis a memorably vivid story about the complex friendship between two African American boys whose lives are heading down very different paths. For fans of Jason ReynoldssGhostand Rebecca SteadsGoodbye Stranger.

Deontae Simp Wright has big plans for his future. Plans that involve basketball, his best friend, Rollie, and making enough money to get his mom and four younger brothers out of the Cove, their low-income housing project. Long term, this means the NBA. Short term, it means being a dough boygetting paid to play lookout and eventually moving up the rungs of the neighborhood drug operation with Rollie as his partner.

Rolland Rollie Matthews used to love playing basketball. He loved the rhythm of the game, how he came up with his best drumbeats after running up and down the court. But playing with the elite team comes with extra, illegal responsibilities, and Rollie isnt sure hes down for that life. The new talented-and-gifted program, where Rollie has a chance to audition for a real-life go-go band, seems like the perfect excuse to stop being a dough boy. But how can he abandon his best friend?