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RAL |
Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws
(age 12+) by Janette Rallison school ... friendship ... sports Publisher comments: Going head-to-head with your best friend is never easy, on the court or off. Josie loves hottie Ethan Lancaster, the captain of the basketball team, but she never can do or say the right thing in front of him. So how can it be fair that Ethan is only interested in her best friend, Cami, when Cami isnt even trying for his affection? Or is she? Cami dreams of winning her basketball teams coveted MVP award, and earning the chance to take the court during a special halftime demonstration with WNBA star Rebecca Lobo, but her best friend, Josie, is a better player. So how can it be fair that Josie is a shoo-in for the honor if she is barely interested in basketball in the first place and isnt even trying to be the best? Or is she? |
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GIL |
Dairy Queen: A Novel
(age 12+) by Catherine Gilbert sports ... friendship Publisher comments: When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. can't help admitting, maybe he's right. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn't so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won't even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say. |
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SWE |
Players
(age 12+) by Joyce Sweeney mystery ... sports Publisher comments: Senior Corey Brennan is the star shooter and newly elected captain of St. Philip's varsity basketball, a team that's poised to make all-city. There is only one slot to fill on the roster, and the team chooses hot-shot transfer student Noah Travers for its second string. But Noah's ambitions are bigger. He wants, and expects, to play starting center. When starting-center Luke mysteriously faints before a game, and Theo suddenly quits the team, everyone suspects Noah is at the root of the trouble, everyone except Corey. Corey can't believe anyone would be malicious enough to drug one player and force another off the team. But as each player is sabotaged and the trust among the teammates disintegrates, Corey can no longer ignore the obvious. The all-city championship is too important, and he must find out the truth before he becomes the next target. |
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MYE |
Hoops: A Novel
(age 12+) by Walter Dean Myers growing up ... sports Publisher comments: All eyes are on seventeen-year-old Lonnie Jackson while he practices with his team for a city-wide basketball Tournament of Champions. His coach, Cal, knows Lonnie has what it takes to be a pro-basketball player, but warns him about giving in to the pressure. Cal knows because he, too, once had the chance--but sold out. As the Tournament nears, Lonnie learns that some heavy bettors want Cal to keep him on the bench so that the team will lose the championship. As the last seconds of the game tick away Lonnie and Cal must make a decision. Are they willing to blow the chance of a lifetime? |
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GRA |
Samurai Shortstop
(age 12+) by Alan Gratz family ... historical ... sports ... school Publisher comments: Tokyo, 1890. Toyo is caught up in the competitive world of boarding school, and must prove himself to make the team in a new sport called besuboru. But he grieves for his uncle, a samurai who sacrificed himself for his beliefs, at a time when most of Japan is eager to shed ancient traditions. It's only when his father decides to teach him the way of the samurai that Toyo grows to better understand his uncle and father. And to his surprise, the warrior training guides him to excel at baseball, a sport his father despises as yet another modern Western menace. Toyo searches desperately for a way to prove there is a place for his family's samurai values in modern Japan. Baseball might just be the answer, but will his father ever accept a "Western" game that stands for everything he despises? |
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DYG |
Backfield Package
(age 12+) by Thomas Dygard friendship ... school ... sports The decision of four high school friends to go to the same college so that they can continue playing football together is shaken when one of them begins to receive attention as a star quarterback. |