The Contenders

Can enemies become friends? That’s the question at the heart of THE CONTENDERS, a novel featuring two fifth graders who couldn’t be more different or hate each other more.

Eunice Yang wants just two things in life: to win The Contest and to beat Thad Warfield.

Only fifth graders can compete in Soap Lake’s annual Brawn and Brains Contest. Winning first place means Eunice will finally get the bike she’s always dreamt about: the Rainier Cruiser. But what she wants even more than her dream bike is to beat Thad Warfield, supreme dumbhead and her archenemy since first grade.

But this year, The Contest’s hundredth anniversary, the rules change. Now, students have to compete in teams of two. Eunice’s worst nightmare comes true. She’s partnered with—Thad.

Together, Eunice and Thad careen through a year filled with cutthroat competitions, vicious squabbles, tetherball death matches, and visits to the principal's office.It’s a close race to the very end, when Eunice discovers that being a contender takes more than just brawn and brains—it takes heart—and there are some things more important than winning.

Peg Cheng has worked as a fabric cutter, a bus parts counter, a tennis clothing seller, a laboratory assistant, a public toilet researcher, a communications director, a career counselor, an academic adviser, and in twenty-seven other jobs. When she’s not writing stories, Peg helps people navigate the treacherous, shark-infested waters of applying to law school, reads a ton, walks a lot, grows vegetables, travels when she can, practices qigong and yoga, and indulges in crazy socks.