Football, Basketball, Wrestling, Track. On or off the court, around the track or way out in left field. These books will let you live in another athlete's shoes.
Freakboy by Kristin Clark
Brendan, a wrestler, struggles to come to terms with his place on the gender spectrum while Vanessa, the girl he loves and Angel, a transgender acquaintance, try to help. (Wrestling)
Forced out by Gene Fehler
Zack Waddell learns that a new player has been made a starter for financial reasons. Also by Gene Fehler: Beanball. (Baseball)
Foul trouble by John Feinstein
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. Also by John Feinstein: Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery. (Basketball)
Darius & Twig by Walter Dean Myers
Two best friends, a writer and a runner, deal with bullies, family issues, social pressures, and their quest for success coming out of Harlem. (Track)
Boy21 by Matthew Quick
Finley, an unnaturally quiet boy who is the only white player on his high school's varsity basketball team, lives in a dismal Pennsylvania town that is ruled by the Irish mob. When his coach asks him to mentor a troubled African American student who has transferred there from an elite private school in California,Finley finds that they have a lot in common in spite of their apparent differences. (Basketball)
Peak by Roland Smith
A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest. (Mountaineering/climbing)
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
When a school bus accident leaves 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. (Track)
Janae by L. J. Alonge
Janae works every day at her grandmother's Strange Goods Superstore, and every night, after closing up shop, she plays basketball with the boys, pushing herself to take her game to the next level. Read the second book in the Blacktop series: Justin. (Basketball)
See No Color by Shannon Gibney
Alex has always identified herself as a baseball player, the daughter of a winning coach, but when she realizes that is not enough she begins to come to terms with her adoption and her race. (Baseball)
Gutless by Carl Deuker
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. (Football)
Goldfish by Nat Luurtsema
Lou Brown is a fast individual medley swimmer, training for the Olympics. But when she tanks the time trials, she starts over and goes back to school. It's hard to fit in with the existing social groups. But then, she begins to coach boys in a different type of swimming activity, for a different type of competition. (Swimming)
Losers Take All by David Klass
At a sports-crazy NJ high school where all kids must play on a team, a group of rebels start a soccer team designed to undermine the jock-culture of the school. (Soccer)
The Flip Side by Shawn Johnson
An elite teenaged gymnast with Olympic dreams finds it hard to train when an irresistible guy comes along and threatens to throw her whole world off balance. (Gymnastics)
Iceman by Chris Lynch
Fourteen-year-old Eric, a ruthless hockey player prone to violence on the ice, tries to reconcile his own needs with those of his parents. (Hockey)
