Showing titles in Sports Fiction

For most of high school, Bijan Majidi has flown under the radar. He gets good grades, reads comics, hangs out with his best friend, Sean, and secretly crushes on Elle, one of the most popular girls in his school. When he's called off the basketball team's varsity bench and makes the winning basket in a playoff game, everything changes in an instant. But not everyone is happy Bijan is the man of the hour: An anonymous cyberbully sends the entire school a picture of Bijan photoshopped to look like a terrorist.

Natalie West and Toby Cooper were best friends growing up, on and off the ice. But when Toby's hockey career took off, their friendship was left behind. Now Natalie has a crazy plan to land her crush—Toby's biggest rival—and she needs Toby's help to pull it off. When Nat asks Toby to be her fake boyfriend, he can't say no. Not when it means getting his best friend back. But Natalie is all grown up now, and spending time with her—even when it's just playing hockey together—stirs up a lot of feelings, old and new.

It’s 1949 and 18-year-old pitching phenom Mickey Tussler is back with the rejuvenated minor league Brewers in the sequel to The Legend of Mickey Tussler (the basis for the television movie A Mile in His Shoes). Despite Mickey’s proclamation that he will never play baseball again after last season’s violent conclusion, his manager - and now surrogate father - Arthur Murphy cajoles the emotionally fragile, socially awkward boy with autism into giving it another shot.

A competitive diver, 17-year-old Ingrid is haunted by what she saw at the pool at a routine meet, before falling off the high dive and waking up concussed. The only thing she remembers about the moment before her dive is locking eyes with Van - her neighbor, former best friend, and forever crush - kissing his girlfriend on the sidelines. But that can’t be all. Then one sleepless night, she sees Van out her window...looking right back at her.

It's not easy being royal. Sixteen-year-old Evangeline wears her crown proudly, but between her duties and her overprotective big brother, the idea of romance is just a dream. But a chance encounter in Chicago changes all that . . . Sure, seventeen-year-old Tyler Evans loves playing hockey, but he's more concerned about providing for his dad and little sister. Then he meets Eva—and falls head-over-heels in love—and he has two more problems. One, she's his best friend's little sister. Two, she wears a crown.

Roxie’s senior year at Stark Springs Academy is not what she envisioned. She never intended to be privy to Stark’s biggest secrets, but she’s thrown right into the middle of it, whether she wants to carry that burden or not. As Ryker Black’s girlfriend, nothing is simple or straightforward. A ski racer first and foremost, Roxie can’t let the ghosts of Stark Springs Academy distract her from the racecourse. Will she be able to pull it off?

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is just one victory away from freedom. But after he is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he is condemned to the violent life and early death of a gladiator. While his loved ones seek desperately for a way to rescue him, Bensin struggles to stay alive and forge an identity in an environment designed to strip it from him. When he infuriates the authorities with his choices, he knows he is running out of time. Can he stand against the cruelty of the arena system and seize his freedom before that system crushes him?

Val and Chloe just don’t fit in at their fancy private school in Manhattan. Together, they ditch school, visit cemeteries and thrift shops, spend their days trolling the city streets, and have sleepovers during which they confide all their secret thoughts - like whether they believe in God, which guys they’re attracted to, and how Val feels after she gets hit on by a man she babysits for. Lately, Val has all kinds of questions. Especially about sex. So Val turns to the two people who have always given her the most honest answers possible: her mother and Chloe. Unfortunately, not even Val’s mother - an adult! - has all the answers.

Tomorrow, the Wildcat varsity field hockey squad will play the first game of their new season. But at tonight’s team sleepover, the girls are all about forging the bonds of trust, loyalty, and friendship necessary to win. Everything hinges on the midnight initiation ceremony - a beloved tradition and the only facet of being a Wildcat that the girls control. Until now. Coach - a handsome former college player revered and feared in equal measure - changes the plan and spins his team on a new adventure.

Holland Delviss wants to be known for her talent as a hockey player, not a hockey player who happens to be a girl. But when her school team is selected to be featured and televised as part of HockeyFest, her status as the only girl on the boys’ team makes her the lead story. Not everyone is thrilled with Holland’s new fame, but there’s one person who fiercely supports her, and it’s the last person she expects (and definitely the last person she should be falling for): her bossy team captain, Wes.

Is this what freedom is supposed to be like? Desperate to provide for himself and his sister Ellie, Bensin searches fruitlessly for work like all the other former slaves in Tarnestra. He needs the money for an even more important purpose, though: to rescue Coach Steene, who sacrificed himself for Bensin’s freedom. When members of two rival street gangs express interest in Bensin’s martial arts skills, he realizes he may have a chance to save his father figure after all...at a cost.

Running back Mick Johnson has dreams: dreams of cutting back, finding the hole, breaking in to the open, and running free with nothing but green grass ahead. He has dreams of winning and of being the best. But football is a cruel sport. It requires power, grace, speed, quickness, and knowledge of the game. It takes luck, too. One crazy bounce can turn a likely victory into sudden defeat. What elite athlete wouldn’t look for an edge? A way to make him bigger, stronger, faster?

Senior year is finally here, and with it comes a surge in my competitive spirit. I’m determined to defend my national cross-country title. Although Jace is busy with the demands of college football, he’s still cheering me on and supporting my goals. With him by my side and my drive focused like never before, I’m ready to take on the world. But am I taking my renewed enthusiasm for training too far? With my boyfriend as the campus idol, I fear that I might just be a target to those who find Jace threatening.

Amberlyn didn’t realize her boyfriend was spending more time with her best friend than with her. Betrayed and publicly humiliated, she needed a box of tissues and a shoulder to cry on. Aiden was happy to supply them. Having a crush on Amberlyn for years, he was secretly glad her boyfriend had dumped her.

Sadia wishes life in high school was as straightforward as a game of basketball. Fifteen-year-old Sadia Ahmadi is passionate about one thing: basketball. Her best friend Mariam, on the other hand, wants to get noticed by the popular crowd and has started de-jabbing, removing her hijab, at school every morning. Sadia's mom had warned her that navigating high school could be tricky. As much as she hates to admit it, her mom was right.

Stupid Fast is playwright Geoff Herbach’s first book for young adults. No one’s more shocked than shy 15-year-old Felton Reinstein himself when he undergoes a tremendous growth spurt. After dusting the football jocks in a race, Felton marvels at his new athletic ability. Everything isn’t looking up, however. Felton must also come to grips with his mother’s sudden depression and his bratty younger brother. And then Felton learns a shocking secret about his past that helps put things in perspective.

With just two weeks until Worlds, the largest international cheerleading competition of the season, Max Turner and her teammates are preparing to take the stage and show everyone what they can do. After a great season, it looks like they are sure to make the final round, and possibly even land in the top spot. But, with everything on the line, Max makes a mistake that could jeopardize her place on not only her team, but also her teams’ place at the Worlds championship. Knowing the entire cheer world will be watching, Max tries to keep her secret from her friends, family, and coach.

Clay Summers has a reputation for being a jerk. He was one of the youngest teenagers to be signed to Team Loco, a professional motocross racing team, and he knows it’s because of his dedication to the sport. Clay doesn’t have time for friends, family, or girlfriends. Autographs and publicity stunts annoy him to no end. All he wants to do is ride his dirt bike. Avery Dunn just graduated high school and she has no idea what to do next. Tired of living in her small town, she dreams of traveling the world and getting paid to do it.

Life’s been difficult enough since American teen Kit Bridges moved to England with her dad to start their new life at The Covington Academy, an elite equestrian boarding school. Her roommate, Anya, turned out to be an Indian princess - a secret Anya didn’t bother to confide to Kit before fleeing Covington, seemingly for good. The boys in England are charming, but they’re too busy fighting for Kit’s attention, and she’s focused on the only one who really made Kit feel like she belonged: wild, unruly horse TK.

Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she's a girl who doesn't believe in second chances, a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom's diner and obsessing over what might have been. So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life - and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She's got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who's been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.