Get in the Game: Read Sports Fiction and Nonfiction

Get in the Game: Read! was this year's national summer reading theme. A display of sports fiction and nonfiction books has been up in the teen area all summer. If you missed it, or saw something there and can't remember the title, here is a list of some of the books. Titles listed are linked to the Library's online catalog.

Authors in the Young Adult collection who mainly write sports fiction are:
Chris Crutcher -- Carl Deuker -- John Feinstein -- Tim Green -- Robert Lipsyte -- Mike Lupica.  Also see the sports fiction series: Orca Sports

Sports Fiction

The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander, 2014. Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health. Realistic fiction. Novel in Verse. 750L



Tangerine, by Edward Bloor, 1997. Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight. Realistic fiction. Ecofiction. 680L

Shift, by Jennifer Bradbury, 2008. When best friends Chris and Win go on a cross country bicycle trek the summer after graduating high school and only one returns, the FBI wants to know what happened. Realistic fiction. 770L

Tumbling, by Caela Carter, 2016.  After sacrificing their childhoods, Grace, Leigh, Camille, Wilhelmina, and Monica are competing in the two days of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials, after which their lives will change forever. Realistic fiction. 690L

Summerland, by Michael Chabon, 2002.  Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy. Fantasy fiction. 950L

Eleven Things I Promised You, by Catherine Clark, 2016. While competing in a bike race with her high school teammates, 17-year-old Frances is determined to complete ten tasks compiled by her best friend Stella. Realistic fiction.

Deadline, by Chris Crutcher, 2007. Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos.". Football. Realistic fiction. Humorous. 880L

Tall Story, by Candy Gourlay, 2011. Sixteen-year-old Bernardo, who is eight feet tall and suffers from a condition called gigantism, leaves the Philipines to live with his mother's family in London, much to the delight of his 13-year-old half sister Andi, a passionate basketball player. Realistic fiction. Humorous. 670L

Second Impact, by David Klass, 2013. When Jerry Downing, star quarterback in a small football town, gets a second chance after his drunk driving had serious consequences, Carla Jensen, ace reporter for the school newspaper, invites him to join her in writing a blog, mainly about sports. Realistic fiction. 980L

Zeroboxer, by Fonda Lee, 2015. As seventeen-year-old Carr 'the Raptor' Luka rises to fame in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, he learns a devastating secret that jeopardizes not only his future in the sport, but interplanetary relations. Science fiction. 870L

Dairy Queen, by Catherine Murdock, 2006. After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, 16-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her. Realistic fiction. Humorous. 990L

Out of Nowhere, by Maria Padian, 2013. Performing community service for pulling a stupid prank against a rival high school, soccer star Tom tutors a Somali refugee with soccer dreams of his own. Realistic fiction. 670L

Keeper, by Mal Peet, 2003. In an interview with a young journalist, World Cup hero, El Gato, describes his youth in the Brazilian rain forest and the events, experiences, and people that helped make him a great goalkeeper and renowned soccer star. Magic realism. 780L

Jockey Girl, by Shelley Peterson, 2016. When Evie learns that her mother is alive, she hatches a plan to enter the Caledon Horse Race and win enough money to find her and leave her unloving father. Realistic fiction.

Pretty Tough, by Liz Tigelaar, 2007. Two feuding sisters from Malibu, California, take their rivalry to the soccer field when both girls make the high school team. Realistic fiction. 690L

The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen, 2011. When a school bus accident leaves 16-year-old Jessica an amputee, she returns to school with a prosthetic limb and her track team finds a wonderful way to help rekindle her dream of running again. Realistic fiction. 650L

The Final Four, by Paul Volponi, 2012. Four players at the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament struggle with the pressures of tournament play and the expectations of society at large. Realistic fiction. 870L

Muckers, by Sandra Neil Wallace, 2013. Inspired by a true story. Felix O'Sullivan, standing in the shadow of his dead brother, an angry, distant father, and racial tension, must lead the last-ever Muckers high school football team to the state championship before a mine closing shuts down his entire town. Historical fiction. 860L

Now is the Time for Running, by Michael Williams, 2011. When soldiers attack a small village in Zimbabwe, Deo goes on the run with Innocent, his older, mentally disabled brother, carrying little but a leather soccer ball filled with money, and after facing prejudice, poverty, and tragedy, it is in soccer that Deo finds renewed hope. Realistic fiction. 650L

Away Running, by David Wright, 2016. Matt and Free are playing American football in Paris, where Matt deals with racial tension and Free tries to forget what's going on at home in Texas. Realistic fiction. 720L

Sports Non-Fiction

Following are sport books recently added to the YA nonfiction collection. 

Boys Among Men: How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution, by Jonathan P. D. Abrams, 2016. Explores the trend of teenage basketball stars skipping college and going right into playing professionally, resulting in the 2005 age limit requirement instituted by the NBA, mandating that all players must attend college or another developmental program for at least a year.

Fourth Down and Inches: Concussions and Football's Make-or-Break Moment, by Carla Killough McClafferty, 2013. Offers a look at the origins of football and the latest research on concussion and traumatic brain injuries in the sport.

Doping in Sports: Winning at any Cost?, by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson, 2016. An examination of the use of performance-enhancing drugs in athletics explores the pressure athletes face for success, investigations held by anti-doping agencies, and the long-term effects of some steroids.

Basketball Now!: The Stars and Stories of the NBA, by Adam Elliott Segal, 2015. Segal provides action-packed profiles of the best professional basketball players on the planet. He reflects on the best clutch shooters of all time; counts down the history of the NBA draft; and pays homage to the greatest dunks every witnessed.

This is Your Brain on Sports, by Jon L. Wertheim, 2016. The executive editor of Sports Illustrated and a psychologist join forces to examine the behavior of those involved in professional sports, explaining how athletes can successfully put aside personal trauma on game day and why people love to root for a loser.

Fair Play: How LGBT Athletes are Claiming their Rightful Place in Sports, by Cyd Zeigler, 2016. Examines the experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender athletes, coaches, and other sports figures, especially in the United States, including the risks they face, coming out or remaining closeted, and other considerations.

Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance: The World's Best-Selling Bicycle Repair and Maintenance Guide, by Lennard Zinn, 2015. From basic repairs like how to fix a flat tire to advanced overhauls of drivetrains and brakes. An illustrated step-by-step guide explains the tools you'll need and how to know you've done the job right. Hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations and exploded parts diagrams.

A Few Nonfiction Sports Books of Note:

• A Passion For Victory: The Story of the Olympics in Ancient and Early Modern Times, by Benson Bobrick, 2012.
• The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, by Daniel James Brown, 2013.
• Friday Night Lights: a Town, a Team, and a Dream, by H.G. Bissinger, 2004.
• In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle, by Madeleine Blais, 1995.
• One Shot at Forever: a Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season, by Chris Ballard, 2012.
• Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team that Changed a Town, by Warren St. John, 2012.