Sports!
Author
Title
Bissinger, H.G.
Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team and a Dream (2000)
The book that inspired the movie and TV program.
Call#
796.332 BIS
Cochrane, Mick
The Girl Who Threw Butterflies (2009)
J COCHRANE M
Eighth-grader Molly's ability to throw a knuckleball earns her a spot on the baseball team, which not only helps her
feel connected to her recently deceased father, who loved baseball, it helps in other aspects of her life as well.
Courtenay, Bryce
The Power of One (1989)
FIC COURTNEY, B
Peekay, a white British boy in South Africa during World War II, between the ages of five and eleven, survives an
abusive boarding school and goes on to succeed in life and the boxing ring with help from a chicken, a boxer, a
pianist, black African prisoners, and many others.
Coy, John.
Crackback (2005)
Y.A. FIC COY J
After being sidelined by a new coach, constantly criticized by his father, and pressured by his best friend to take
steroids, Miles barely recalls when football was fun.
Crutcher, Chris.
Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories (1991)
YA FIC CRUTCHER, C
A collection of sporting short stories featuring characters from earlier books by Chris Crutcher.
Crutcher, Chris.
Ironman (1995)
YA FIC CRUTCHER, C
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.
Crutcher, Chris.
Whale Talk (2001)
Y.A. FIC CRUTCHER,C
Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized sports and the gung-ho
athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school's less popular
students.
Deuker, Carl.
Gym Candy (2007)
Y.A. FIC DEUKER, C
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.
Deuker, Carl.
On the Devil's Court (1988)
YA FIC DEUKER, C
Struggling with his feelings of inadequacy and his failure to make the basketball team in his new school, seventeenyear-old Joe Faust finds himself willing to trade his soul for one perfect season of basketball.
Esckilsen, Erik.
Offsides (2004)
J ESCKILSEN E
Tom Gray, a Mohawk Indian and star soccer player, moves to a new high school and refuses to play for the Warriors
with their insulting mascot.
Feinstein, John.
Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery (2005)
J FEINSTEIN, J
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.
Feinstein, John.
Vanishing Act (2006)
J FEINSTEIN J
Eighth-grade sports reporters Susan Carol and Stevie reunite at the U.S. Open tennis championships where they
investigate the mysterious disappearance of a top Russian player.
Fitzgerald, Dawn.
Soccer Chick Rules (2006)
J FITZGERALD D
While trying to focus on a winning soccer season, thirteen-year-old Tess becomes involved in local politics when
she learns that all sports programs at her school will be stopped unless a tax levy is passed.
Hornby, Nick.
Slam (2007)
Y.A. FIC HORNBY N
When Sam Jones's girlfriend gets pregnant and Sam's life of skateboarding and daydreaming about Tony Hawk
changes drastically.
Sports!
Hughes, Pat.
Open Ice (2005)
Y.A. FIC HUGHES P
Hockey has been Nick Taglio's life since he was five years old, so when a massive concussion benches him-possibly for good--everything seems to fall apart, including his schoolwork, his family relationships, his friendships,
and his love life.
Jenkins, A.M.
Damage (2001)
YA FIC JENKINS, A
Seventeen-year-old football hero Austin, trying to understand the inexplicable depress that has drained his interest in
life, thinks that he has found relief in a girl who seems very special.
Klass, David.
Home of the Braves (2002)
Y.A. FIC KLASS, D
Eighteen-year-old Joe, captain of the soccer team, is dismayed when a hotshot player shows up from Brazil and
threatens to take over both the team and the girl whom Joe hopes to date.
Korman, Gordon
Pop (2009)
Y.A. FIC KORMAN, G
Lonely after a midsummer move to a new town, sixteen-year-old high-school quarterback Marcus Jordan becomes
friends with a retired professional linebacker who is great at training him, but whose childish behavior keeps Marcus
in hot water.
Lupica, Mike
Heat (2006)
J LUPICA, M
Pitching champ Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League.
Rival coaches believe he’s over twelve-years-old and he has no parents to offer them proof.
Lynch, Chris
Gold Dust. (2000)
Y.A. FIC LYNCH,C
In 1975, twelve-year-old Richard befriends Napolean, a Caribbean newcomer to his Catholic school, hoping that
Napolean will learn to love baseball and the Red Sox, and will win acceptance in the racially polarized Boston
school.
Lynch, Chris
The Inexcusable (2005)
Y.A. FIC LYNCH, C
High school senior and football player Keir sets out to enjoy himself on graduation night, but when he attempts to
comfort a friend whose date has left her stranded, things go terribly wrong.
Mackel, Kathy
Boost (2008)
Y.A. FIC MACKEL, K
Thirteen-year-old Savvy's dreams of starting for her elite basketball team are in danger when she is accused of
taking steroids.
Nelson, Blake
Paranoid Park (2008)
YA FIC NELSON, B
A 16-year-old Portland, Oregon skateboarder, whose parents are going through a difficult divorce, is engulfed by
guilt and confusion when he accidentally kills a security guard at a train yard.
Orr, Wendy
Peeling the Onion. (1997)
YA FIC ORR, W
Following an automobile accident in which her neck is broken, a teenage karate champion begins a long and painful
recovery with the help of her family.
Parker, Robert B
The Boxer and the Spy (2008)
Y.A. FIC PARKER R
Fifteen-year-old Terry, an aspiring boxer, uncovers the mystery behind the unexpected death of a classmate.
Ritter, John H
The Boy who Saved Baseball (2003)
J RITTER, J
The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, and Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his
team to victory with the secrets of the now disgraced player, Dante Del Gato.
Ritter, John H
Under the Baseball Moon (2006)
Y.A. FIC RITTER, J
Andy and Glory, two fifteen-year-olds from Ocean Beach, California, pursue their respective dreams of becoming a
famous musician and a professional softball player.
Roberts, Kristi.
My Thirteenth Season (2005)
J ROBERTS, K
Already downhearted due to the loss of her mother and her father's overwhelming grief, thirteen-year-old Fran
decides to give up her dream of becoming the first female in professional baseball after a coach attacks her just for
being a girl.
Sports!
Sitomer, Alan Lawrence.
The Hoopster (2006)
YA FIC SITOMER, A
Andre Anderson, an African-American teenager who loves to play basketball, is happy about his summer internship
at a magazine, but his life is unexpectedly changed by a random act of violence.
Spinelli, Jerry
There's a Girl in my Hammerlock (1991)
Y.A. FIC SPINELLI, J
Thirteen-year-old Maisie joins her school's formerly all-male wrestling team and tries to last through the season,
despite opposition from other students, her best friend, and her own teammates.
Sweeney, Joyce
Players (2000)
Y.A. FIC SWEENEY, J
Eighteen-year-old Corey sees a threat to his dream of winning the basketball championship when he discovers that
the new player on his team is a girl-stealing, friend-framing, team-destroying force of evil.
Tharpe, Tim
Knights of the Hill Country (2006)
Y.A. FIC THARP, T
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
7 Days at the Hot Corner (2007)
Y.A. FIC TRUEMAN, T
Varsity baseball player Scott Latimer struggles with his own prejudices and those of others when his best friend
reveals that he is gay.
Wallace, Rich
Playing Without the Ball (2000)
Y.A. FIC WALLACE, R
Feeling abandoned by his parents, who have gone their separate ways and left him behind in a small Pennsylvania
town, seventeen-year-old Jay finds hope for the future in a church-sponsored basketball team and a female friend.
Wallace, Rich.
Wrestling Sturbridge (1996)
YA FIC WALLACE, R
Stuck in a small town where no one ever leaves and relegated by his wrestling coach to sit on the bench while his
best friend becomes state champion, Ben decides he can't let his last high school wrestling season slip by without
challenging his friend and the future.