Blood Is Thicker

Bluford High #8

by Paul Langan, D.M. Blackwell

Hakeem Randall can't take it anymore. First he learns that his father is sick and his parents can no longer afford their home. Then he must leave his friends at Bluford High and move to his uncle's house in faraway Detroit. Things go from bad to worse when Hakeem is forced to share a small bedroom with his moody and secretive cousin, Savon. Once childhood friends, the two quickly become enemies. Now the are ready to go to war with each other, and the outcome of the battle promises to change their lives forever.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Drama, Fiction, School, African American, Childrens

164 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Born in Philadelphia, Paul Langan spent his early childhood in the city before moving with his single mother to southern New Jersey. There he attended public school and worked a variety of jobs—including salesperson at a shoe store, attendant at a horse ranch, landscaper at a mental hospital, and a night-shift stockperson in a warehouse store near Atlantic City. “Each job,” he says today, “could be the topic of several juicy novels.”

In 1991, he enrolled at Camden County College and a year later transferred to La Salle University, where he studied creative writing and literature, earning a B.A. in English. While at La Salle, he lived with international students, traveled to his roommate’s home in Kenya, became a prison tutor, and found “the courage” to write.

After graduation, he worked for a nonprofit agency in Philadelphia and then joined Townsend Press (TP) as an Assistant Editor. After he contributed to a number of TP textbooks and taught English at a community college, Paul reconnected to his interests in creative writing through the Bluford Series. Originally working as an assistant with the Bluford novels, Paul’s role steadily grew. He now serves as both editor of the series and author or coauthor of several novels, including The Bully, The Gun, and The Fallen. His stories reflect his personal experiences, including the difficulties of growing up without a father, being the “new kid” in school, and dealing with the loss of a loved one.

In 2001, Paul completed a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to expanding the Bluford Series, he dreams of writing a successful movie script, preferably a “supernatural thriller.” Today Paul lives with his wife and three children near Philadelphia and stubbornly clings to the hope that he will one day see the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl.