New YA Sports Novels: The Prodigy, Here to Stay, Rebound and Attucks!

Although young adult sports novels frequently involve thrilling play by play, they also usually include additional conflict that the protagonist must navigate with integrity and determination. New books by four award winning authors explore the stories of young people who  deal with personal challenges while playing competitive sports.   In The Prodigy by John Feinstein, a 17-year-old golf phenom not only competes in the Masters but also struggles to resist going pro before he is ready.  Here To Stay by Sara Farizan focuses on JV basketball player Bijan Majidi who scores the winning basket in a varsity game, propelling him to newfound popularity that in turn attracts racist bullying. Rebound, the prequel to The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander, finds the twins' father Charlie Bell channeling his grief over the death of his father into a newfound love for basketball. Finally, Attucks!: Oscar Robertson and the Basketball Team that Awakened a City by Phillip Hoose tells the tale of the fabled 1955 Crispus Attucks Tigers, the first all-black team to win a state championship in a racially integrated tournament.

After making it to the finals in the U.S. Amateur championship, 17-year-old golfer Frank Baker, The Prodigy, earns an invitation to the Masters, where he captures the attention of sponsors and greedy agents with his spectacular performance.  His single dad, who is struggling to pay bills, wants Frank to turn pro, but Frank knows he is not ready. Frank's swing coach enlists the help of a sports journalist to guide Frank through the challenges of standing up for himself in the cutthroat world of competitive golf.  Award-winning sportswriter John Feinstein enthralls us with riveting play by play on real courses with famous golf pros, officials and journalists. The realistic golf jargon, as well as a subplot about Frank possibly losing his amateur status, add to the suspense of his thrilling feats and comebacks during the tournament.  In the end a climactic act of sportsmanship shows him to be an honorable young man who deserves to be the master of his own destiny.

In  Here to Stay Sara Farizan (Lambda Literary Award winner for LBGT YA fiction) introduces JV basketball player Bijan Majidi who enjoys newfound popularity when he scores a winning basket while subbing on his prep school's varsity team.  He also attracts the attention of his crush Elle Powell, who enlists his help in her crusade to change the school mascot The Gunner to a something non-violent. However, Bijan's Jordanian and Persian background provokes a cyberbully to post a picture of him as a terrorist entitled "Our New Mascot."  His outraged single mother wants him to protest this hate crime, but he resists until the bully also targets two of his lesbian friends.  He then realizes the issue goes beyond himself and he launches a courageous public campaign to find out who is behind the attacks.  Bijan's first person narrative alternates with a humorous imaginary live analysis of his life from his two favorite NBA commentators.  The suspenseful mystery examines a variety of societal issues in an engaging timely read.

Kwame Alexander's latest novel-in-verse, Rebound, a prequel to his Newbery winner, tells the story of Josh and Jordan Bell's father and how he came to play basketball.  The summer of 1988 Charlie Bell is reeling from the unexpected death of his father.  He buries himself in comic books and ends up getting sent to his grandparents after a brush with the law.  His no-nonsense grandfather puts him to work in the sweltering heat and takes him to the Boy and Girls club where he shoots hoops with his cousin Roxie, who lures him into playing with her team.  Slowly but surely, "Chuck" begins to heal through the love of family and friends, as well as his newfound love of the game. Comic-style illustrations of Chuck fantasizing about being a basketball superhero by Dawud Anyabwile complement Alexander's wordplay in this must read for fans of The Crossover.

Hailing from Indianapolis and an ardent basketball fan, I am excited to share a new non-fiction book that comes out October 23rd - Attucks!: Oscar Robertson and the Basketball Team that Awakened a City. This true story of the all-black Indianapolis high school, Crispus Attucks, tells the story of how a sports team led to the integration of a segregated city.  When the Crispus Attacks Tigers won the Indiana state championship in 1955, it showed the world that black athletes are not inferior. Led by the future NBA star Oscar Robertson, the brilliantly coached team of boys, raised in poverty, dominated championship play.  They were the first championship team from Indianapolis and the first all-black team to win a racially open tournament, ultimately leading to integrated teams in the future. Although National Book Award winner Phillip Loose tells the history of the high school, he focuses on the role Oscar Robertson played which makes the story more intimate, giving us a Birdseye view of the racism he and others experienced.