Every Variable of Us

After Philly teenager Alexis Duncan is injured in a gang shooting, her dreams of a college scholarship and pro basketball career vanish in an instant. To avoid becoming another Black teen trapped in her poverty-stricken neighborhood, she shifts her focus to the school’s STEM team, a group of self-professed nerds seeking their own college scholarships. Academics have never been her thing, but Alexis is freshly motivated by Aamani Chakrabarti, the new Indian student who becomes her friend (and crush?). Alexis begins to see herself as so much more than an athlete. But just as her future starts to reform, Alexis’s own doubts and old loyalties pull her back into harm’s way. Click Here to Read Preview. 

2022 Moonbeam Awards Gold Medalist (Young Adult Fiction – Mature Issues)

New York Public Library’s Best Books for Teens for 2022

A 2023 In the Margins Book Awards Top Ten Title

Best Children’s Books of 2022 – Bank Street Children’s Book Committee

School Library Journal

“Bush’s social realism combined with insightful representation will appeal strongly to teens ­eager to see themselves and their struggles represented accurately.”

Foreword Reviews

“[Charles A. Bush’s] characters, born of lived experience, are engaging and relatable. The book’s events and their repercussions are intense, the emotions are authentic, and the story’s conclusion is satisfying.”

Kirkus Reviews

“The author doesn’t shy away from showing truths about how poverty affects people, especially in Black communities . . . Raw and authentic.”

Children's Literature

“This is a powerful story, well-written and heartfelt. Be sure to keep a hanky close by. Teachers have a lot of material to choose from for classroom discussions.”