Sign-In
Cart
The 9: From the South Side to Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
Paperback
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 28 2025
Pages: 298
Weight: 0.88
Height: 0.62 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Ayanna Phelps is proud to be one of The 9, the tight-knit group of smart and determined students who meet on their first day of ninth grade on the #9 Ashland bus.
As they make their way across Chicago in pursuit of opportunity, what begins as a shared commute quickly becomes a lifeline as they navigate academic pressure, neighborhood challenges, family expectations, and the unspoken realities of growing up Black and brilliant in a world that does not always understand them. On the #9, the nine teens find more than transportation-they find belonging, encouragement, and a community that carries them through the uncertainties of adolescence.
By senior year, when Ayanna begins to face the most difficult chapter of her life, friendships shift. Home becomes uncertain. Dreams that once felt within reach suddenly seem fragile. What was once the easiest part of her day-finding strength, laughter, and hope with The 9-becomes harder than ever to hold onto.
Inspired by the author's own experiences, The 9 is an emotionally rich literary novel that captures a shared experience for many Black students who traveled beyond their neighborhoods each day in pursuit of educational opportunity. While Ayanna's journey is uniquely her own, it reflects the resilience, sacrifice, friendship, and quiet determination of students who crossed Chicago between the South Side communities that shaped them and the classrooms where they dared to imagine a different future.
Powerful, heartfelt, and deeply authentic, The 9 celebrates the enduring bonds of friendship, the strength of community, and the transformative power of education. It is a tribute to the young people who carried not only books and backpacks, but the hopes of their families, their neighborhoods, and themselves-and whose everyday journeys deserve to be remembered.
Also in
General Juvenile Fiction
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book Two the Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book Two)
Riordan, Rick
Paperback
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One the Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One)
Riordan, Rick
Paperback
Anne of Green Gables, 3-Book Box Set, Volume I: Anne of Avonlea; Anne of the Island; Anne of Green Gables
Montgomery, L. M.
Paperback
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters, The: The Graphic Novel
Riordan, Rick
Venditti, Robert
Paperback
Mary Anne Saves the Day: A Graphic Novel (the Baby-Sitters Club #3): Full-Color Edition
Martin, Ann M.
Paperback
Claudia and Mean Janine: A Graphic Novel (the Baby-Sitters Club #4): Full-Color Edition
Martin, Ann M.
Paperback
Dog Man: Big Jim Believes: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #14): From the Creator of Captain Underpants: Volume 14
Pilkey, Dav
Hardcover
Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories 2: From the Creator of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Kinney, Jeff
Hardcover
Investigators: Agents of S.U.I.T.: Sew Much Trouble
Green, John Patrick
Hastings, Christopher
Hardcover
Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy: A Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #1): Volume 1
Sutherland, Tui T.
Paperback
Dog Man: Big Jim Begins: A Graphic Novel (Dog Man #13): From the Creator of Captain Underpants: Volume 13
Pilkey, Dav
Hardcover