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.

Teens Dealing with Death: Solo, Words in Deep Blue, Zenn Diagram, A Short History of the Girl Next Door

Coping with the death of a friend or loved one is not easy for people of any age. For children and young adults the experience may impact who they become as adults.  Reading about how the main characters deal with death in their lives may inform the readers about coping mechanisms and support systems that enable the young person to move on from the devastating experience. This month's books recommendations involve teens struggling with this issue.   Solo by Kwame Alexander (The Crossover) is a novel-in-verse which chronicles the life of a boy whose mother dies, leaving him in the hands of his addicted rock star father. Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley (Graffiti Moon) focuses on a girl who works in a book store, cataloging a collection of books that contain correspondence between lovers and strangers. Unable to cope with her brother's death in a drowning accident, she hides her sorrow and focuses on other people's lives. Zenn Diagram by Wendy Brant is a paranormal romance about a girl who survives a car accident that kills her family, but leaves her with the ability to sense people's secrets by touching them.  Finally, A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck explores the emotions of a boy whose best friend and secret crush dies, leaving him bereft and unable to deal with his unrequited love. 

Solo, Kwame Alexander's latest novel-in-verse, introduces 17-year-old Blade, whose drug addicted rock star father has provided a glamorous lifestyle that is filled with turmoil since Blade's mother died.  When Dad derails Blade's commencement speech, he decides to hit the road with his girlfriend Chapel, whose parents disapprove of him.  However, before Blade can convince her to leave with him, he catches Chapel with another guy and his sister hits him with a bombshell.  Blade is adopted.  He revises his plans and determines to find his birth mother, which leads him to Konko, Ghana, where his mother does charity work.  There he finds not only his roots, but also a new perspective on family.  Blades' original rock ballads are scattered throughout the novel, giving it a lyrical quality readers will enjoy.

In Words in Deep Blue we learn the story of Rachel and Henry in alternating chapters from each character's point of view.  They were best friends before Rachel moved away from their small town in Australia, leaving Henry a love letter that he never finds.  Rachel returns three years later, having lost her brother in a drowning accident, which she does not disclose.  The bookshop Henry manages is up for sale and Rachel is hired to catalog the shop’s most unique feature, the Letter Library, which contains books with inscriptions, notes, and years of correspondence between lovers and strangers.  Although things are strained between them, they begin to rekindle their relationship as they work side by side. Interspersed with excerpts from the Letter Library, this story of missed connections plays out, revealing a universal story of love, loss and second chances. This is an essential read for lovers of literature. Filled with literary references and philosophical meanderings, the book bears witness to Henry's quip, "Sometimes science isn't enough. Sometimes you need the poets."

Zenn Diagram explores the way people's lives intersect in mysterious ways.  Eva Walker is a math nerd, who, since a car accident left her an orphan, has been gifted with the ability to detect people's hidden fears and struggles by touching them. She uses this ability to diagnose math issues in the students she tutors, but otherwise avoids touching anyone, because sharing other people's secret angst is too stressful. When Zenn Bennett arrives for tutoring, she is unable to sense his problems through touch and begins to hope he may be the clue in getting to the bottom of her disturbing abilities.  Then a shocking family connection almost derails their budding romance and Eva realizes she must work through it, if she is ever going to have a normal life. Eva's first person narration is engaging and her relationship with her adoptive parents and quadruplet siblings is refreshingly positive.  Readers will enjoy this quirky romance which deals with young love, grieving and forgiveness.

A Short History of the Girl Next Door doesn't come out until September 26th, but I couldn't resist telling you about this distinctive take on the grieving process. When high school freshman Matt Wainright begins to view his best friend Tabby romantically, his world is turned upside down. Tabby has just gotten involved with senior basketball star Liam Branson, while Matt is struggling to establish himself on the JV team and in Tabby's heart. Just as his behavior begins to sabotage their relationship, Tabby dies tragically in a car accident.  As people shower sympathy on Liam, who has lost his girlfriend, Matt's grief and anger escalate and he begins imploding. The only place he feels any relief is writing angst-ridden poetry in his English class. When Matt gets into a fight with Liam, he is suspended and sent to his grandparents where his grandpa helps him deal with the overload of emotions that he doesn't know how to handle.  The story vacillates from hilarious (Matt's self-deprecating reflections are delivered by an incompetent movie director in his head) to heartbreaking when he makes one bad decision after another.  This unusually flawed protagonist makes for a unique and heartwarming  read.