A Matter of Control — J.E. Solinski

Five very different people wrestle with the ultimate question: who is in control? Martha Richards is a high school English teacher who prides herself on her efficiency in the classroom and her ability to solve problems. Three of Martha's students - Reba Washington, Alex Kowalski, and Travis Johnson -- and Martha's own son, Danny, find themselves entangled in a web of best intentions that Martha creates and then tries to control. Her intervention brings unintended consequences for everyone.
Excited about starting high school, freshman Reba yearns to be an actress but finds that life seems to be conspiring against her. Meanwhile, sophomore Alex, a star on the football field, has a deep secret that could derail his future. Travis, a junior, believes that his only way out of the ghetto is to control it through position and power, only to find that the real turf war is deep within him. College freshman Danny struggles under the weight of others -- expectations and so creates an escape of his own as a means of minimizing the damage.
In A Matter of Control, faith is tested and illusions are shattered as each one of the five comes face to face with the truth of who really is in control.