Staff Picks
"Where are your boy books for teens?" - Sports
- Thomas M.
- Friday, July 14, 2023
Collection
If you are looking for books with male protagonists across a variety of genres, then this series of booklists has plenty to recommend. This list features books about athletes and the role sports play in their lives.
The Crossover
Published in 2014
2015 Newbery Medal Winner 2015 Coretta Scott King Honor Award Winner "With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering, " announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander ( He Said, She Said 2013). Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
The Crossover
Published in 2013
"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander (He Said, She Said 2013). Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
The Crossover
Published in 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.
The Crossover
Published in 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.
The Crossover Graphic Novel
Published in 2019
Kwame Alexander's NYT Bestseller and Newbery Medal winning The Crossover is vividly brought to life as a graphic novel with stunning illustrations by star talent Dawud Anyabwile. New York Times bestseller · Newbery Medal Winner · Coretta Scott King Honor Award · 2015 YALSA 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults · 2015 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers · Publishers Weekly Best Book · School Library Journal Best Book · Kirkus Best Book "A beautifully measured novel of life and line." ? The New York Times Book Review The Crossover is now a graphic novel! "With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . . The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. 'Cuz tonight I'm delivering," raps twelve-year-old Josh Bell. Thanks to their dad, he and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood?he's got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it's all on the line. See the Bell family in a whole new light through Dawud Anyabwile's dynamic illustrations as the brothers' winning season unfolds, and the world as they know it begins to change.
Justin
Published in 2016
Fifteen-year-old Justin keeps a list of goals stashed under his mattress. Number 1 is "figure out life plans." Number 5 is "earn Zen Master rating in WoW." Number 7 is "play a little basketball every day." Nowhere on that list is "take on the crew from Ghosttown," but that's the type of trouble that always seems to finds him, and he's not the type to back down from a challenge.
Athletic Shorts
Six Short Stories
Published in 2009
A collection of short stories featuring characters from earlier books by Chris Crutcher.
Ironman
Published in 2009
While training for a triathlon, seventeen-year-old Bo attends an anger management group at school which leads him to examine his relationship with his father.
Running Loose
Published in 2009
Louie, a high school senior in a small Idaho town, learns about sportsmanship, love, and death as he matures into manhood.
Running Loose
Published in 2003
Louie, a high school senior in a small Idaho town, learns about sportsmanship, love, and death as he matures into manhood.
Whale Talk
Published in 2009
A varsity letter jacket: it's exclusive, nearly unattainable, revered...and everything that's screwed up about Cutter High, as far as T.J. is determinded to have the Cutter All Night Mermen - the unlikeliest swim team a high school has ever seen - earn letter jackets of their own.
Whale Talk
Published in 2008
<P>There's bad news and good news about the Cutter High School swim team. The bad news is that they don't have a pool. The good news is that only one of them can swim anyway. A group of misfits brought together by T.J. Jones (the J is redundant) to find their places in a school that has no place for them, the Cutter All Night Mermen struggle to carve out their own turf. T.J. is convinced that a varsity letter jacket - unattainable for most, exclusive, revered, the symbol (as far as T.J ...
Mexican Whiteboy
Published in 2008
Sixteen-year-old Danny searches for his identity amidst the confusion of being half-Mexican and half-white while spending a summer with his cousin and new friends on the baseball fields and back alleys of San Diego County, California.
Gym Candy
Published in 2007
Groomed by his father to be a star player, football is the only thing that has ever really mattered to Mick Johnson, who works hard for a spot on the varsity team his freshman year, then tries to hold onto his edge by using steroids, despite the consequences to his health and social life.
Gym Candy
Published in 2007
Groomed by his father to be a star player, football is the only thing that has ever really mattered to Mick Johnson, who works hard for a spot on the varsity team his freshman year, then tries to hold onto his edge by using steroids, despite the consequences to his health and social life.
Heart of a Champion
Published in 2007
Seth faces a strain on his friendship with Jimmy, who is both a baseball champion and something of an irresponsible fool, when Jimmy is kicked off the team.
Heart of a Champion
Published in 1993
Seth faces a strain on his friendship with Jimmy, who is both a baseball champion and something of an irresponsible fool, when Jimmy is kicked off the team.
High Heat
Published in 2003
When sophomore Shane Hunter's father is arrested for money laundering at his Lexus dealership, the star pitcher's life of affluence and private school begins to fall apart.
Payback Time
Published in 2010
Overweight, somewhat timid Mitch reluctantly agrees to be the sports reporter for the Lincoln High newspaper because he is determined to be a writer, but he senses a real story in Angel, a talented football player who refuses to stand out on the field--or to discuss his past.
Payback Time
Published in 2010
Overweight, somewhat timid Mitch reluctantly agrees to be the sports reporter for the Lincoln High newspaper because he is determined to be a writer, but he senses a real story in Angel, a talented football player who refuses to stand out on the field--or to discuss his past.
Swagger
Published in 2013
High school senior point guard Jonas Dolan is on the fast track to a basketball career until an unthinkable choice puts his future on the line.
Gutless
Published in 2016
"With both good speed and good hands, wide receiver Brock Ripley should be a natural for the varsity team, but he shies from physical contact. When his issues get him cut from varsity, he also loses his friendship with star quarterback Hunter Gates. Now a target for bullying, Brock struggles to overcome his fears and discover that, in his own way, he is brave enough"-- Provided by publisher.
Change-up
Mystery at the World Series
Published in 2009
While covering baseball's World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Boston Red Sox, teenage sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol investigate a rookie pitcher whose evasive answers during an interview reveal more than a few contradictions in his life story.
Cover-up
Published in 2007
Fledgling fourteen-year-old sports reporters Susan Carol and Stevie investigate suspicious activities at the Super Bowl after Stevie gets fired from his co-anchor job on a ground-breaking teen sports show.
Foul Trouble
Published in 2013
"College recruiters are clambering to sign up Terrell Jamerson, the #1 high school basketball player in the country. But not all of these recruiters are straight shooters, and Terrell will have to think fast if he wants to stay in the game"-- Provided by publisher.
Last Shot
A Final Four Mystery
Published in 2005
After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game.
Rush for the Gold
Mystery at the Olympics
Published in 2012
Two teenaged aspiring journalists who are dating solve a mystery at the 2012 Olympic Games, while one simultaneously competes for a gold medal in swimming.
The Walk on
Published in 2014
After moving to a new town his freshman year in high school, Alex Myers is happy to win a spot on the varsity team as a quarterback but must deal with idea of not playing for two years since the first-string quarterback is not only a local hero, he is also son of the corrupt head coach.
Backfield Boys
Published in 2017
When best friends Tom and Jason leave New York City for an elite, sports-focused boarding school in Virginia to play football, they find some coaches and teammates to be steeped in racism.
The Prodigy
Published in 2018
Seventeen-year-old golf prodigy Frank seems ready to blaze his way into Masters Tournament history, but his college plans are jeopardized by his father's sponsorship plans that threatens to ruin Frank's amateur status.
Icebreaker
Published in 2022
A. L. Graziadei's Icebreaker is an irresistible YA debut about two hockey players fighting to be the best—and the romance that catches them by surprise along the way. Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league's top draft spot. The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey's infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he's willing to risk for it. This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path.
Icebreaker
Published in 2022
Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league's top draft spot. The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey's infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he's willing to risk for it. This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path.
Icebreaker
Published in 2022
Mickey James III is following in his father's (and grandfather's) skates by playing hockey at Hartland University, but he is not enjoying the situation: for one thing he is seriously depressed, unsure of anything, even whether he can make it as a hockey player (or wants to); more troubling his rival, Jaysen Caulfield, is also on the team and seems to bitterly resent him--and Mickey actually finds Jaysen very attractive and does not know how to deal with that.
Stupid Fast
Published in 2011
Just before his sixteenth birthday, Felton Reinstein has a sudden growth spurt that turns him from a small, jumpy, picked-on boy with the nickname of "Squirrel Nut" to a powerful athlete, leading to new friends, his first love, and the courage to confront his family's past and current problems.
Stupid Fast
Published in 2011
I AM NOT STUPID FUNNY. I AM STUPID FAST. My name is Felton Reinstein, which is not a fast name. But last November, my voice finally dropped and I grew all this hair and then I got stupid fast. Fast like a donkey. Zing! Now they want me, the guy they used to call Squirrel Nut, to try out for the football team. With the jocks. But will that fix my mom? Make my brother stop dressing like a pirate? Most important, will it get me girls-especially Aleah? So I train. And I run. And I sneak off to Aleah's house in the night. But deep down I know I can't run forever. And I wonder what will happen when I finally have to stop.
Stupid Fast
Published in 2011
My name is Felton Reinstein, which is not a fast name. But last November, my voice finally dropped and I grew all this hair and then I got stupid fast. Now they want me to try out for the football team. With the jocks. But will that fix my mom? Make my brother stop dressing like a pirate? Most important, will it get me girls?
Cracking the Bell
Published in 2019
While recovering from a game-related concussion, football star Isaiah wonders what his life would be like without the game.
Hooper
Published in 2018
For Adam Reed, basketball is a passport. Adam s basketball skills have taken him from an orphanage in Poland to a loving adoptive mother in Minnesota. When he s tapped to play on a select AAU team along with some of the best players in the state, it just confirms that basketball is his ticket to the good life: to new friendships, to the girl of his dreams, to a better future.
Attucks!
Published in 2018
"Narrator Brad Sanders's baritone voice bestows deserved gravitas on this remarkable story...Hoops and history fans won't be the only ones appreciating this inspirational listen." ? AudioFile Magazine Attucks! is the true story of the all-black high school basketball team that broke the color barrier in segregated 1950s Indiana, masterfully told by National Book Award winner Phil Hoose. By winning the state high school basketball championship in 1955, ten teens from an Indianapolis school meant to be the centerpiece of racially segregated education in the state shattered the myth of their inferiority. Their brilliant coach had fashioned an unbeatable team from a group of boys born in the South and raised in poverty. Anchored by the astonishing Oscar Robertson, a future college and NBA star, the Crispus Attucks Tigers went down in history as the first state champions from Indianapolis and the first all-black team in U.S. history to win a racially open championship tournament?an integration they had forced with their on-court prowess. From native Hoosier and award-winning author Phillip Hoose comes this true story of a team up against impossible odds, making a difference when it mattered most. This title has Common Core connections.
Attucks!
Published in 2018
An ALA Notable Book of 2019 NYPL Best Book for Teens of 2018 A 2018 Booklist Youth Editors' Choice A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Book of 2018 A Kirkus Reviews Best YA Nonfiction Book of 2018 An ALSC Notable Children's Book of 2019 A YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Nominee The true story of the all-black high school basketball team that broke the color barrier in segregated 1950s Indiana, masterfully told by National Book Award winner Phil Hoose. By winning the state high school basketball championship in 1955, ten teens from an Indianapolis school meant to be the centerpiece of racially segregated education in the state shattered the myth of their inferiority. Their brilliant coach had fashioned an unbeatable team from a group of boys born in the South and raised in poverty. Anchored by the astonishing Oscar Robertson, a future college and NBA star, the Crispus Attucks Tigers went down in history as the first state champions from Indianapolis and the first all-black team in U.S. history to win a racially open championship tournament?an integration they had forced with their on-court prowess. From native Hoosier and award-winning author Phillip Hoose comes this true story of a team up against impossible odds, making a difference when it mattered most. This title has Common Core connections.
The Contender
Published in 1967
A Harlem high school dropout escapes from a gang of punks into a boxing gym, where he learns that being a contender is hard and often discouraging work, but that you don't know anything until you try.
QB 1
Published in 2013
Jake Cullen, fourteen, lives in the shadows of his father and older brother until he becomes the starting quarterback for the high school football team and finally has his chance to shine.
The Berlin Boxing Club
Published in 2011
In 1936 Berlin, fourteen-year-old Karl Stern, considered Jewish despite a non-religious upbringing, learns to box from the legendary Max Schmeling while struggling with the realities of the Holocaust.
The Berlin Boxing Club
Published in 2011
Karl Stern has never thought of himself as a Jew. But the bullies at his school in Nazi-era Berlin, don't care that Karl has never been in a synagogue or that his family doesn't practice religion. Demoralized by attacks on a heritage he doesn't accept as his own, Karl longs to prove his worth. So when Max Schmeling, champion boxer and German national hero, makes a deal with Karl's father to give Karl boxing lessons, A skilled cartoonist, Karl has never had an interest in boxing, but now it seems like the perfect chance to reinvent himself. But when Nazi violence against Jews escalates, Karl must take on a new role: protector of his family. And as Max's fame forces him to associate with Hitler and other Nazi elites, Karl begins to wonder where his hero's sympathies truly lie. Can Karl balance his dream of boxing greatness with his obligation to keep his family out of harm's way?
Undefeated
Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team
Published in 2017
"A great American sport and Native American history come together in this true story of how Jim Thorpe and Pop Warner created the legendary Carlisle Indians football team"-- Provided by publisher.
Peak
Published in 2007
A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.
Peak
Published in 2008
The only thing you'll find on the summit of Mount Everest is a divine view. The things that really matter lie far below. - Peak Marcello After fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he's left with two choices: wither away in Juvenile Detention or go live with his long-lost father, who runs a climbing company in Thailand. But Peak quickly learns that his father's renewed interest in him has strings attached. Big strings. As owner of Peak Expeditions, he wants his son to be the youngest person to reach the Everest summit--and his motives are selfish at best. Even so, for a climbing addict like Peak, tackling Everest is the challenge of a lifetime. But it's also one that could cost him his life. Roland Smith has created an action-packed adventure about friendship, sacrifice, family, and the drive to take on Everest, despite the incredible risk. The story of Peak's dangerous ascent-told in his own words-is suspenseful, immediate, and impossible to put down.
The Final Four
Published in 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.