Get in the Game!
Score with these sports stories for teens!
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Get in the Game! |
| Alphin, Elaine Marie | The Perfect Shot (2005) Brian uses basketball to block out the memory of his girlfriend and her family's murder, but the upcoming trial forces him to face the past. |
| Bloor, Edward | Tangerine (1997) Legally blind, Paul gets a chance to play soccer on a misfit team. |
| Crutcher, Chris | Whale Talk (2001) Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes until he agrees to form a swim team and recruits some of the less popular students. Also try Crutcher’s Running Loose (1983) for a good football story. |
| Deuker, Carl | High Heat (2003) When Shane's father is arrested for money laundering, the star pitcher's life of affluence and private school begins to fall apart. For a good basketball story, try Deuker’s Night Hoops (2000). |
| Feinstein, John | Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery (2005) After winning a sports reporting contest, two students go to cover the Final Four tournament where they discover a player is being blackmailed to throw the final game. |
| Johnson, Scott | Safe at Second (1999) Paulie Lockwood's best friend Todd Bannister is destined for the major leagues until a line drive to the head causes him to lose an eye and they both must find a new future for themselves. |
| Klass, David | Home of the Braves (2004) Joe, captain of the soccer team, is dismayed when a hotshot player shows up from Brazil and threatens to take over the team and the girl whom Joe hopes to date. |
| Koertge, Ron | Shakespeare Bats Cleanup (2003) When a 14 year old baseball player catches mononucleosis, he discovers that keeping a journal and writing poetry fills the time and helps him deal with life, love, and loss. |
| Lipsyte, Robert | Raiders Night (2006) Matt is co-captain of his high school football team and endures a traumatic season as he witnesses the rape of a rookie player by teammates and grapples with his own steroid use. |
| Martino, Alfred C. | Pinned (2005) Dealing with family problems, girls, and their own competitive natures, Ivan and Bobby face each other in the final match of the New Jersey State Wrestling Championship. |
| McCormick, Patricia | My Brother's Keeper (2005) Toby, a prematurely gray-haired Pittsburgh Pirates fan and baseball card collector, tries to cope with his brother's drug use, his father's absence, and his mother’s dating. |
| Murdock, Catherine | Dairy Queen (2006) After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her. Followed by The Off Season (2007) |
| Orca Soundings | Juice (2005) Moose must decide if he should risk taking steroids to become a star on the football team. |
| Peet, Mal | Keeper(2005) In an interview, El Gato describes his life in a Brazilian rainforest and the events, experiences and people that helped make him a renowned World Cup soccer star. |
| Peña, Matt de la | Ball Don't Lie (2005) Sticky lives for basketball and plays at school and at a Rec Center, but he is unaware of the many dangers -- including his own past -- that threaten his dream of playing professionally. |
| Powell, Randy | Three Clams and an Oyster (2002) During their humorous search to find a fourth player for their flag football team, three high school juniors are forced to examine their long friendship, their individual flaws, and their inability to try new experiences. |
| Ripslinger, Jon | How I Fell in Love and Learned to Shoot Free Throws (2003) Danny Henderson, an indifferent basketball player, has his eye on Angel McPherson, star of the girls' team in their Iowa high school. |
| Ritter, John H. | Under the Baseball Moon (2006) Andy and Glory pursue their respective dreams of becoming a famous musician and professional softball player. You may also like Ritter’s other baseball story, Over the Wall (2002). |
| Schmidt, Gary D. | Trouble (2008) Trying to live up to the legacy of his athletically gifted brother who was killed in an accident, Henry wants to hike Mount Katahdin and along the way discovers that his brother may have not been as perfect as he thought. |
| Sitomer, Alan L. | The Hoopster (2005) Andre loves to play basketball, but when he is viciously attacked, it calls his whole world into question – even his deadly jumpshot. |
| Swanson, Julie A. | Going For the Record (2004) Leah's chance to make the national soccer team does not seem so important when she learns that her father has cancer and may only have months to live. |
| Tharp, Tim | Knights of the Hill Country (2006) In his senior year, high school star linebacker Hampton Greene finally begins to think for himself and discovers that he might be interested in more than just football. |
| Trueman, Terry | Cruise Control (2004) A talented basketball player struggles to deal with the helplessness and anger that come with having a brother rendered completely dysfunctional by severe cerebral palsy and a father who deserted the family. |
| Turner, Ann Warren | Hard Hit (2006) A rising high school baseball star faces his most difficult challenge when his father is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. |
| Volponi, Paul | Black & White (2005) Two star basketball players, one black and one white, experience the justice system differently when they get caught together committing a crime. |
| Wallace, Rich | Playing Without the Ball (2000) Feeling abandoned by his parents, 17 year old Jay finds hope for the future in a church-sponsored basketball team and a female friend. |
| Weaver, Will | Striking Out: A Billy Baggs Novel (1993) Since the death of his older brother, Billy has a distant relationship with his father, but life on their farm begins to change when he starts to play baseball. Farm Team (1995) and Hard Ball (1998) continues Billy’s story. |
June 2009