Luke Reynolds

"There is a lot of pressure in today's society for kids to succeed, but failing is a part of learning how to be a successful person. In his teaching career, Luke Reynolds saw the stress and anxiety his students suffered over grades, fitting in, and getting things right the first time. Fantastic Failures was created for these students to learn that their mistakes and failures do not define their whole lives, but help them grow into their potential....

"Magazine spreads and Hollywood hits showcase stars with perfect skin, perfect faces, perfect hair, perfect lives, perfect... everything. But what if the absence of scars is really a lie? And what if, underneath all that perfection, something far more powerful and authentic is waiting to be seen, shown, and heard? In Braver Than I Thought, kids meet the true stories of remarkable people whose scars have been a part of their journey, who have helped...

As Gabby Gomez is trying to tell her family she is Gum Girl, she encounters Ninja-Rina, a masked ballerina for whom no crime is "tutu" big.

When Gabby and her family visit her uncle in Cobel, Mexico, she learns about her Aztec roots, and faces students from the wrestling school of her uncle's rival.