Sports Fiction Teen

In 1911, three men were in the final round of the famed Pendleton Round-Up. One was white, one was Indian, and one was black. When the judges declared the white man the winner, the audience was outraged. They named black cowboy George Fletcher the "people's champion" and took up a collection, ultimately giving Fletcher far more than the value of the prize that went to the official winner. Award-winning author Vaunda Micheaux Nelson tells the story of Fletcher's triumph with a western flair that will delight kids - and adults - who love true stories, unlikely heroes, and cowboy tales.

Tri had anxiously been waiting for this day throughout the entire school year: The beginning of summer, when his days would be filled with beach volleyball, surfing, and more beach volleyball. But when he signs up for summer beach volleyball at Outrigger Beach with his best friend and partner, Trevor, he discovers the devastating news that Trevor has teamed up with his arch-rival, Ricardo. Now Tri, with the help of his tough-love auntie, must befriend a misfit named Travis, building a new team, a new partnership, and a deep friendship that changes his view on beach volleyball and life.

It started with unspoken animosity. The bitter bite of jealousy. And now it's full-blown hate. It was during my first football game that I felt the first chill of hate. I looked it right in the eyes and felt its sticky tentacles reach out for me. I'd never experienced something so cold and empty before. The effect of that look lingered, like an unspoken promise, long after it was gone. Becoming a couple, becoming the other half of a campus celebrity, wasn't easy.

It's his last year at Pine Mountain, and Ryan Dean should be focused on his future, but instead he's haunted by his past. His rugby coach expects him to fill the roles once played by his lost friend, Joey, as the rugby team's stand-off and new captain. And somehow he's stuck rooming with 12-year-old freshman Sam Abernathy, a cooking whiz with extreme claustrophobia and a serious crush on Annie Altman - aka Ryan Dean's girlfriend, for now, anyway.

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.

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: In one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra's knee, his athletic career, and his social life. No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe.

Ghost. Patina. Sunny. Lu. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds, with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team - a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics. They all have a lot of lose, but they all have a lot to prove, not only to each other but to themselves. Sunny is the main character in this novel, the third of four books in Jason Reynolds' electrifying middle-grade series.

What might have been a dream come true has turned into a nightmare. Brad's twin brother T.J. has gotten himself out of the fancy prep school his father picked for him and into the public high school Brad attends. Now T.J., the bright light in his father's eyes, is a shining new star on the hockey team, where Brad once held the spotlight. And he's testing his popularity with Brad's friends, eyeing Brad's girl, and competing to be captain of the team.

Twelve-year-old Danny Walker may be the smallest kid on the basketball court, but don't tell him that. Because no one plays with more heart or court sense. But none of that matters when he is cut from his local travel team, the very same team his father led to national prominence as a boy. Danny's father knows Danny isn't the only kid who was cut for the wrong reason, and together, this washed-up former player and a bunch of never-say-die kids prove that the heart simply cannot be measured.

After all, I'm Graham Scott, son of a football legend and guaranteed a scholarship. But now, I'm so far off the beaten path I barely recognize myself anymore. My father is a cheat. My best friend broke my heart. And I owe ten thousand dollars in gambling debt. The only thing I seem to find solace in anymore is the bottom of a booze bottle.

Greg “Slam” Harris can play basketball, period. On the court, he’s almost unstoppable. As he says, “I can hoop. Case closed.” But off the court, it’s a different story. Every day is a struggle to keep things together. Leaving his best friend Ice behind, Slam transfers to a top-notch academic school and is easily the best player on the basketball team. But his grades are slipping, and the coach doesn’t appreciate Slam’s attitude. On top of that, Slam suspects that Ice has started selling drugs, just as their opposing teams prepare for a showdown on the court.

Freshman footballers Jason Roddin and Tom Jefferson are a perfect pair: Jason is a blazing-fast wide-receiver, while his best friend Tom has all the skills a standout quarterback needs. After summer football camp at an elite sports-focused boarding school, the boys are thrilled to be invited back with full-ride scholarships. But on day one of practice, they're shocked when the team's coaching staff makes Tom, a black kid, a receiver and Jason, a white kid, a quarterback.

The uptight valedictorian lost a bet, and now the whole school’s talking about her kiss with the cocky quarterback... It's just one kiss. That's what everybody at the end-of-summer party says when the bane of my existence wins a challenge and demands a kiss. But it's not just a kiss because everyone knows we've been enemies since kindergarten. So when school starts up, that kiss is all anyone's talking about. Even my crush has taken notice, and I think...maybe he's jealous? And suddenly my enemy's plan to use this rumor to our mutual advantage doesn't seem so crazy, after all.

The acclaimed author of Flipped delivers a powerful and healing story that’s perfect for anyone who’s ever thought that something was impossible. Listeners will revel in the story of a girl who puts herself back together - and learns to dream bigger than ever before - after she’s told she’ll never run again. Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?

Tennis means life and death for the residents of the magical kingdom of Nova, and for 12-year-old Legacy, it’s the only thing getting her through the long days taking care of the other kids at the orphanage. That’s all about to change when she hears about Silla’s tournament. Silla, the ruler of Nova, hosts an annual tournament for the less fortunate of her citizens to prove themselves and win entrance to the Academy, where they can train to compete at nationals. The prize is Silla’s favor and enough cash to keep open the orphanage, and Legacy has her heart set on both.

Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion who dreams of getting the proper training he could never afford. After earning a place on the elite Kings Row fencing team, Nicholas must prove himself to his rival, Seiji Katayma, and navigate the clashes, friendships, and relationships between his teammates on the road to state championships - where Nicholas might finally have the chance to spar with his golden-boy half-brother.

For most girls, sleepaway camp is great fun. But for Amy Becker, it's a nightmare. Amy, whose home life is in turmoil, is sent to Camp Takawanda for Girls for the first time as a teenager. Although Amy swears she hates her German-immigrant mother, who is unduly harsh with Amy's autistic younger brother, Amy is less than thrilled about going to camp. At Takawanda she is subjected to a humiliating "initiation" and relentless bullying by the ringleader of the senior campers.

Adam Coryell est un élève de dix-sept ans tout à fait ordinaire - enfin, si l’on excepte sa passion immodérée pour les stylos-plume. Mais sa vie tranquille change du tout au tout quand un article scientifique selon lequel tout corps humain est apte à exceller dans au moins un sport tombe entre les mains de mizz Davenport, sa prof de lettres et d’éducation physique pour le moins excentrique. On déclare les mensurations d’Adam idéales pour jouer au… golf. Pourtant, Adam n’a jamais posé la main ni sur un bois ni sur un fer.

Twelve-year-old star Little League pitcher Nick Garcia has a dream. Several in fact. He dreams he'll win this season's MVP and the chance to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. He dreams he'll meet his hero, Yankees' pitcher Michael Arroyo. He dreams they'll find a cure for Lupus so he sister won't have to suffer. But mostly, he dreams one day his family can stop living in fear of the government. For one kid, it's almost too much to bear.

When Maximillian Sanders moved to Greyford, he had three goals: mend the broken relationship with his sister, keep her safe, and get into a division one college, playing hockey. There he meets the girl who breaks his heart and turns his world upside down, and it's her best friend who helps pick up the pieces. Brook Taylor learned the hard way that in order to survive this ugly world, she needed to live by her own rules. Then she meets Max and for the first time, she's tempted to break them. He's off limits, and she has a plan that doesn't include a hot hockey player.