sports

The Rule Book

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by Sarah Adams
First sentence: “Sometimes life is like a box of chocolates, and sometimes life is like a box of chocolates left out in the sun all day.”
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Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: April 2, 2024
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, some on-screen sex, and instances of harassment in the workplace.

Nora Mackenzie loves sports and knows she can be a fantastic sports agent. The thing that’s been holding her back though, is that sports – and sports agencies – are Old Boys Clubs and it’s been hard for her to catch a break. She has found Nicole who has given her a break, and been impressed with her. So much, so that she’s given Nora a plum assignment: being the agent for star football player Derek Pender, who’s recovering from an ankle injury. The problem? Derek is her college boyfriend, who she broke up with quite heartlessly, eight years ago.

Thus starts a contentious relationship – especially since they’re trying to be professional even though they have feelings for each other – until they drunkenly get hitched in Vegas one weekend. Then, it morphs into a fake marriage to save their careers and reputations – until Derek and Nora give in to the chemistry between them.

Read this one for the characters. Seriously. Nora is an absolute delight, and the way she and Derek play off each other is just delightful. Outside of the characters, though, I think this book just tries to do too much. It’s a lot #wokefeminism, and it’s a lot of there needs to be more females in sports. There are some of dad issues (which Funny People does better) and some of the importance of friendships. But at its center are the characters and relationship between Derek and Nora and that’s absolutely worth reading this book for.

Skating on Mars

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by Caroline Huntoon
First sentence: “Time with Katya, my figure skating coach, is in high demand.”
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Content: There is some bullying and misgendering. It’s in the Middle Grade section (graes 3-5) of the bookstore. I read this book for the Cybils, and this reflects my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

All Mars wants to do is skate. They feel the most at home on the ice, especially since their dad’s death. But, things off the ice aren’t simple: they haven’t come out to their family as nonbinary, their best friend is making new friends that aren’t terribly accepting of Mars, and they might have a crush on a girl at the skating rink. It’s a lot for a 12-year-old to handle. And when they decide to skate in the men’s division of a competition, that makes everything they thought they were holding in come spilling out.

I liked this one a lot! I liked the portrayal of Mars as an enby kid, and the way it was expressed. I liked that their mom was supportive, once she found out, and all the conflit and drama was centered around figure skating and the binary way the sport is structured. I liked the relationships Mars had, and the realistic ups and downs they went through. And I never felt like Huntoon was simplifying or dumbig thigns down for the audience.

A solid story, good for both people who love to skate and for those who want a book from a nonbinary perspective.

Audiobook: All In

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by Billie Jean King, Johnette Howard, and Maryanne Vollers
Read by Billie Jean King
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: King talks about difficult subjects including sexism, discrimination, her affair, and eating disorders. It’s in the Sports section of the bookstore.

In this memoir, King writes of how she got into tennis, her struggles for equal treatment in the sport for women, her winning championships and being number one in the world, as well as her winning the infamous “Battle of the Sexes”. She talks about coming to terms with her sexuality as well as broadening her activism. It covers her life up to the present, including her marriage to her long-time partner Ilana Kloss.

I picked this one up not because I had any real affection for King, but because I was looking for something different to listen to and was in the mood for a sports book. I found it interesting – it’s not just a history of King’s life, it’s a history of women in professional sports, of the evolution of tennis in America, of the history of Women’s, Civil, and LGBTQ+ Rights. If I can say anything, it’s this: King has been around for a long time (she was born in 1943) and has seen and done and been involved in a lot. She wasn’t particularly fantastic as a narrator; I sped it up so she’d read at a speed that I could tolerate, but I did appreciate hearing the emotion in her voice when she talked about certain subjects. She was very frank about her life, her mistakes, her evolution, and her path to a very fulfilling life. I did like hearing about the other players on the tennis tour, especially when she got to ones I recognized (say around the 1980s), and I did enjoy hearing her view on her personal and professional battles.

It’s not my usual read, but I liked it well enough.

EMG Graphic Novel Roundup 8

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Last one!

Smaller Sister
by Maggie Edkins Willis
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Content: There is talk of eating disorders and body dysmorphia. As well as a lot of talk about crushes. It’s in the Middle Grade graphic novel section of the bookstore.

Born close together, Livy and Lucy were super close as kids. They played together, building imaginary worlds. It seemed to Lucy that they would always be inseparable. But then, their parents moved them to a different school and Livy became… different. She hung out with the popular girls, started talking a lot about boys, stopped eating, and (worst of all) stopped talking to Lucy. As things got worse, and Livy developed an eating disorder, Lucy was left to unravel things all by herself.

This one was just so good. I loved all the aspects of sisterhood that Willis touched upon, how the girls were close, and then grew apart as the oldest one got older. (They did make up in the end, and find their way back to friendship.) I also liked the focus on eating disorders from the outside. There is one scene, later when Lucy is in 6th grade when she decides to control her food, and Livy is able to talk to her and tell her from experience what was going on. It was an incredibly touching scene. A very good book.

Wingbearer
by Marjorie Liu and Teny Issakhanian
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Content: There are some intense/scary moments. It’s in the Middle Grade graphic novel section of the bookstore.

Zuli has been raised her whole life in the Great Tree, the place where the spirits of birds come to rest before being reborn. She is content there, communing with the birds, until the day that the spirits stop coming. Concerned, the birds send one of Zuli’s bird friends out to find out the cause, but when he doesn’t come back, Zuly and her companion Frowly set out into the wide world to find the problem. Once there, they find a world of danger, hardship, and a witch queen who wants to take over. On their journey, though, they find friendship and companionship, and most of all, Zuli finds out who she really is.

This is a really excellent hero’s journey tale. It has shades of Warrior Cats (there were at least a few pages that gave off strong Warriors vibes), but it’s still a solid tale. I love the world and the mythology that Liu has created and Issakhanian’s art is absolutely gorgeous. Definitely an excellent start to what could be a great series.

Play Like a Girl
by Misty Wilson and David Wilson
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Content: There is a bit of bullying and some friendship issues. It’s in the Middle Grade graphic novel section of the bookstore.

In this graphic memoir, Wilson recounts her seventh-grade year when she was on the football team. She was always an active girl, in sports, and not really terribly feminine. So when the boys tell her she “can’t” play football, she sets out to prove them wrong. On the way, she loses a best friend – Bree, who doesn’t want to be all sweaty with the boys, but instead befriends the mean girl in the school, shunning Misty – and gains some new ones, as well as the respect of some of the boys (but not all) on the team. She learns new skills and works hard to play the best and hardest she can.

I’m always down for a girl in a non-traditional sports book, and this is a good one. I loved Misty’s determination to do anything she puts her mind to, even in the face of opposition from her teammates. I’m glad she had the support of some of the adults in her life, and I appreciated that Wilson didn’t shy away from the costs Misty paid for being on the football team. The art is really good as well. An excellent graphic novel all around.

Chunky

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by Yehudi Mercado
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Content: There is talk about weight loss and body issues, including some bullying, which might be triggering. It’s in the middle-grade graphic novel section of the bookstore.

Hudi is a bit overweight and his parent and doctors think he should join a sport to lose weight. The only thing that keeps Hudi engaged in the sports — he’d rather be telling jokes — is his imaginary friend, Chunky, who is Hudi’s own personal cheerleader. But when Hudi gets in with a group of boys who want him to be something other than he is, Chunky and Hudi get into a fight (can you get into a fight with your imaginary friend?) and Hudi has to decide what’s truly important.

I wanted to like this one. It’s got a Jewish Latinx main character (and author). It’s sometimes funny. But it mostly just made me uncomfortable. I suppose there are some kids out there who might like it, and perhaps it’s good for representation and empathy’s sake, but mostly this was a hard no from me.

Undefeated

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by Steve Sheinkin
First sentence: “Jim Thorpe looked ridiculous and he knew it – like a scarecrow dressed for football, he’d later say.”
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Content: There are problematic elements regarding Native representation. It’s in the kids biography section of the bookstore.

As part of our Native people unit in this class I am taking, we had to choose a problematic book to read. I was super surprised to see Sheinkin’s work on the list for problematic; I have a hih respect for his work, and assumed that all of his research wa sipeccalbe.

In this instance, he’s looking at the Carlisle Indian School, a residential school — for “civilizing the natives” — run by the government in the late 1800s though the early 1990s. They ended up with a football program, one that went up against the “big” schools of the time — Harvard, Penn, Yale, and Princeton — even though they were a lot smaller and more poorly equipped. It’s also the history of Jim Thorpe, who ended up being the one of Carlisle’s — and possibly the sport’s — greatest athletes. Where Sheinkin ends up being problematic is in the way he talks about the school and about Thorpe’s Native history. As a white person, Sheinkin doesn’t even know what he doesn’t know, and doesn’t know what it is how it is that he needs to write about it. It makes sense that the book would end up being problematic. .

Truthfully, the part of the book I found most fascinating was the history of football. Sheinkin is an excellent writer and was able to write about the games in a way that made them leap off the page. It was interesting to learn about what the game was like in the early days. And it was interesting to learn the role that Carlisle Indian School played in developing and changing the game.

So, yeah: problematic. But still interesting.

Furia

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by Yamile Saied Méndez
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Content: There is swearing, including two f-bombs, and some suggestive content. It’s in the Teen section (grades 9+) of the bookstore.

Camila Hassan has a lot going on in her life. On the one hand, she’s a dutiful daughter of an abusive father, going to school and learning English in her Argentinian town. On the other hand, she’s la Furia: an fútbolera, playing soccer with all her heart. The thing is: she’s got talent on the pitch. And the team she plays on has made the Sudiamericano championships. Camila wants — with all her heart — to follow the dream she has of playing soccer professionally. Possibly in the United States, even.

Complicating things (abusive an sexist father aside), her childhood friend (and possible boyfriend?) Diego is back in town after a successful season with a professional Italian soccer team. He’s the sweetheart of the barrio, and Camila doesn’t even know if he remembers her, let alone wants to have a long-distance relationship.

This is not just an excellent portrait of an ambitious girl striving to make the most out of her life in a place where the decks are stacked against her. Which it is; I loved how Méndez included race and colorism as well as sexism as part of the story, highlighting all the various things influencing Camila’s life and decisions.

It’s also a swoon-worthy romance, but one in which the relationship isn’t the main focus of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed having it be a part of the book, but not the main focus. On top of everything, I think Méndez is a fantastic writer and definitely one to watch. I’m looking forward to reading more books from her.

Dragon Hoops

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by Gene Luen Yang
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Content: There are swear words, but there are all bleeped out. It’s a bit thick, which might be intimidating for younger readers. It’s in the graphic novel section of the bookstore.

I’ve read a lot of what Yang has written, but even so, I didn’t expect this to be a graphic novelization of his last year teaching at Bishop O’Dowd in Oakland, California, and the year the high school men’s basketball team had.

Yang himself admits it up front: he never thought he’d be writing a graphic novel about basketball. He’s more of a superhero guy. And I get that. But, Yang does a fantastic job of letting his readers into the world of an elite high school basketball team. He introduces us to several of the main players, getting to know them and the dynamics they have with the coaches. As a parallel story, Yang explores the transition from teaching full time and writing part time to writing full time. It was an interesting story, one in which I found myself invested in the outcome: would the Bishop O’Dowd Dragons win the State Championship?

I found myself fascinating by the book. Not only because Yang does a superb job humanizing the people in the game, he does a superb job portraying the games themselves. I think he really does capture the athleticism and the intensity in each basketball game. All of which made this graphic novel very enjoyable.

Black Brother, Black Brother

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by Jewell Parker Rhodes
First sentence: “I wish I were invisible.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: March 3, 2020
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: It’s pretty simply told, and easy enough (and appropriate) for younger readers to understand. It will be in the Middle Grade section (grades 3-5) of the bookstore.

Dante is the black brother in his family. His dad is white, his older brother Trey presents as white, but Donte and his mom present as black. Which wasn’t a problem until the family moved to a (mostly white) suburb of Boston and the boys started attending a (mostly white) prep school.

I’ll stop here and say this book is all about racism. Explicit racism from some of the students at the school — the story’s antagonist and school bully, Alan — but also the implicit racism in the system: Donte, because he is black, is the one who is always in trouble, who the teachers and the headmaster blame for things that go wrong. But it goes broader than that: Rhodes tackles the prison system — Donte is arrested for something he didn’t do at school, and the only reason he gets off is because he doesn’t present as stereo-typically black (and having a white father helped, too). And the overall racism inherent in sports.

It’s a simple book, but that makes sense, considering who its intended audience is. And Rhodes is a remarkable writer, able to simplify without dumbing down for her audience. It’s a good story, and one worth reading.

Throw Like a Girl

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by Sarah Henning
First sentence: “
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Release date: January 7, 2020
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is swearing, mostly mild, and kissing. It will be in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.

I’m not a huge aficionado of sports books for teens, but I have read some. Most are geared towards boys (like Kwame Alexander’s books or Stupid Fast), but every once in a while, I get a good sports book, especially a football book, that has a girl as the main character, and embraces the idea that girls, yes, can play football too. (Honestly: the last one I remember is Dairy Queen, which I loved.) In fact, Henning doesn’t dwell on the “can she play football?” issue here. Our main character, Liv, is actually scouted out by the starting quarterback, Grey, primarily because he’s seen her play softball (the sport she excels at) and mess around playing football with her brother, and he needs someone who can be a backup, since the freshman who is actually his backup is a bit weak.

There’s more going on in the plot than that — Liv lost her scholarship to the elite private school where she was playing softball for punching another player (with good reason) and there’s a nice romance between her and Grey — but it’s mostly about being on a team and working hard and just being able to play a game that she loves.

Henning was a former sports writer, and it shows: she’s able to not only give play-by-plays of the games (both football and softball), but she is able to portray the work it takes to be a good athlete, as well as the feelings that come from being a part of a team and from being on the field. (Not that I’ve ever been any of those things, but I feel like she gets it!) And she’s good on the romance front too: Liv and Grey’s relationship didn’t feel contrived, and it wasn’t perfect. Though there were some incredibly swoon-worthy parts.

It was a fun read, and one that will do well as part of the YA sports cannon.