The Townsend Press is the publisher behind the Bluford Series. The books in the series are written by multiple authors, but Bluford High School connects the stories. When I taught middle school, many of my students read the entire series or at least some of the books in the series. My students connected to the novels being set in an urban area and the characters grappling with issues they have faced such as peer pressure, family issues, bullying, and trauma. The books are quick reads and are under 200 pages.
The best part is Townsend Press provides the audio for the books free of charge online at https://www.bluford.org/.
Check out the video below to hear an excerpt from The Bully, a book in the Bluford Series.
Also, check out the book trailer one of my former middle school students created for The Bully.