Heaven Crack'd

Heaven Crack'd is a Middle GradeYA dark adventure fantasy novel based east-Asian myth, Buddhism, and the Wheel of Life. It has a strong anime/manga/steampunk feel Mark is a troubled but talented high school quarterback. After being thrown out of school once again, he's shipped off to a remote private school called St. Francis. However, dark happenings are haunting St. Francis. Mark is caught picking a safe in one of the director's offices to get his confiscated cigarettes, and his skills bring more attention than he cared for. He is taken away and locked in a secret area called the Puzzle Room, where he and a few other boys put their talents to use on solving cryptic puzzles. Here he meets a young autistic boy called Scratch and they become friends. Soon, Mark picks the lock of a forbidden room and must answer two riddles to save his life as a shape shifter in the form of a leopard hunts him. Ultimately, Mark discovers that he is Kyudo -- a legendary breed of warrior needed to fend off the forces of hell and hungry ghosts to protect heaven itself from falling.