If you love sports, whether it’s watching or playing, you’ll love these fantastic new novels involving teens playing their favorite games. Check these out also for a dose of romance and social justice.
In Kneel by Candace Buford, Marion and Rus are hassled by their white adversaries at the football game, insults and fists fly, and Marion is arrested. Rus knows he didn’t start it, so when he takes a knee at the next game, he is surprised to see how many people – including his coach and his parents – do not support him.
Crystal Frasier’s graphic novel Cheer Up! follows old friends Annie (who is really antisocial) and Bebe (who is trans). They need extracurriculars to round out their transcripts, so they both join the cheerleading squad. Can the rest of the squad learn to like Annie, and also to quit treating Bebe like a mascot?
A.L. Graziadei’s novel Icebreaker focuses on Mickey, who plays hockey mainly because it’s what his dad and grandfather played. When he meets Jaysen, his rival, he feels he may have more interesting reasons to play.
In Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning, Liv is kicked off her softball team for fighting, so she joins the football team, recruited by the coach’s son and starting quarterback. Can she take his place, and can she manage her growing feelings for him?
In Why We Fly by Kimberly Jones, Chanel and Eleanor’s friendship is off to a rocky start of the season when their cheer squad takes a knee and each girl must face different responses and consequences.
Sloane Leong’s beautiful graphic novel A Map to the Sun tells how Ren and Luna were inseparable until Luna had to move away to deal with family tragedy. Two years later, they meet again and join the same basketball team. Can their sport (and the other girls on the team) bring them back together?
Emma Kress’s book Dangerous Play shows Zoe, ready to take her field hockey team to the championship, but a sexual assault suddenly threatens their entire season. When a teammate reveals she was raped, the team changes tack and starts going after their assailants.
In Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez, Camila lives in the shadow of her soccer star brother and her abusive father at home, but on the soccer pitch, she dominates. Her skills are good enough to get her a scholarship to America, but will her parents ever allow her to play?
In Sajni Patel’s novel The Knockout, Kareena hides the fact that she is an accomplished Muay Thai fighter, a rarity for women, but when she tells her normally disapproving community, she is surprised to learn her classmate Amit is supportive.
In Kelly Quindlen’s novel She Drives Me Crazy, Scottie runs (literally!) into annoying cheerleader Irene after losing to her ex in a big basketball game, yet manages to persuade Irene to fake-date her to make her ex jealous. Will it work? Will it work too well?
Find the whole list in our catalog: Teens in Sports
~ posted by Wally B.
Leave a Comment