Last Updated: September 28, 2023
After the Shot Drops
by Randy Ribay
Bunny takes a basketball scholarship to an elite private school to help his family, leaving behind Nasir, his best friend, in their tough Philadelphia neighborhood. Told from alternating perspectives.
Chasing Pacquiao
by Rod Pulido
Self-preservation. That’s Bobby’s motto for surviving his notoriously violent high school unscathed. Being out and queer would put an unavoidable target on his back, especially in a Filipino community that frowns on homosexuality. It’s best to keep his head down, get good grades, and stay out of trouble. But when Bobby is unwillingly outed in a terrible way, he no longer has the luxury of being invisible. A vicious encounter has him scrambling for a new way to survive—by fighting back. Bobby is inspired by champion Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao to take up boxing and challenge his tormentor. But when Pacquiao publicly declares his stance against queer people, Bobby’s faith—in his hero and in himself—is shaken to the core.
Dragon Hoops
by Gene Luen Yang
Gene understands stories – comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins. But Gene doesn’t get sports. As a kid, his friends called him “Stick” and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it’s all anyone can talk about. Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he’s seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn’t know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons’ lives, but his own life as well.
Fast Pitch
by Nic Stone
Shenice Lockwood dreams of leading the Fulton Firebirds to the U12 softball regional championship. But Shenice’s focus gets shaken when her great-uncle Jack reveals that a career-ending-and family-name-ruining-crime may have been a setup. It’s up to Shenice to discover the truth about her family’s past-and fast-before secrets take the Firebirds out of the game forever.
Fierce as the Wind
by Tara Wilson Redd
It’s spring of senior year in Oahu. While her friends are getting ready for college, Miho is deep in her misery after her boyfriend broke up with her without warning. Then inspiration strikes: she’ll do a triathlon. An Ironman competition official race costs too much, so Miho’s friends create one for her. The training is brutal for a girl who has never even run a mile– at least she can bike and swim. With the constant support of her friends and her dad, Miho digs deep to find just how fierce her determination is and how many obstacles she can overcome in this race… and maybe even in her life.
Icebreaker
by A.L. Graziadei
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.
Kneel
by Candace Buford
When his best friend is unfairly arrested and kicked off the team, Russell Boudreaux kneels during the national anthem in an effort to fight for justice and, in an instant, falls from local stardom to become a target of hatred.
The Avant-Guards
by Carly Usdin
As a transfer student to the Georgia O’Keeffe College for Arts and Subtle Dramatics, former sports star Charlie is struggling to find her classes, her dorm, and her place amongst a student body full of artists who seem to know exactly where they’re going. When the school’s barely-a-basketball-team unexpectedly attempts to recruit her, Charlie’s adamant that she’s left that life behind…until she’s won over by the charming team captain, Liv, and the ragtag crew she’s managed to assemble.
We Are the Wildcats
by Siobhan Vivian
After enduring a week of punishing try-outs and making the cut for the girls varsity field hockey team, new players must participate in a night of questionable bonding traditions and loyalty tests, orchestrated by the most senior girls on the squad and performed with the implicit permission of their seemingly all-American young male coach.
You Don’t Have a Shot
by Raquel Marie
Valentina “Vale” Castillo-Green’s life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father’s intense expectations are all wrapped up in the beautiful game. But after she incites a fight during playoffs with her long-time rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything she’s been working toward seems to disappear. Embarrassed and desperate to be anywhere but home, Vale escapes to her beloved childhood soccer camp for a summer of relaxation and redemption…only to find out that she and the endlessly aggravating Leticia will be co-captaining a team that could play in front of college scouts. But the competition might be stiffer than expected, so unless they can get their rookie team’s act together, this second chance—and any hope of playing college soccer—will slip through Vale’s fingers. When the growing pressure, friendship friction, and her overbearing father push Vale to turn to Leticia for help, what starts off as a shaky alliance of necessity begins to blossom into something more through a shared love of soccer. . . and maybe each other.