In many ways, Wing Jone is the book that I’ve been searching for for half my life. (I’m in my mid-twenties, so that’s not an exaggeration.) See, I’m of biracial descent. Even though I’ve sought books with biracial protagonists all my life, I’ve come across very few. Combine that with sports, one of my many passions, and odds of finding such a book plummet to near zero. Then Wing Jones came along and that book made my heart sing.
THIS SIDE OF SALVATION by Jeri Smith-Ready
This Side of Salvation had a lot going for it. Sports, school, religion and romance — all things that are important to a sixteen-year-old. David had a bright future ahead of him in baseball. He trained just as hard for it off-season as he did during his seasons. College scouts were on the look-out for him and his high school coach had taught David all he could.
BEING SLOANE JACOBS by Lauren Morrill
I don’t think any book that is so steeped in sports can get any more charming than Being Sloane Jacobs! After I closed that book,I was just sitting there with a silly grin on my face. No kidding. I wanted to hug the book to sleep. It was that adorable. And yet I totally got into the sports parts. They were realistic, they were intense, and all the dynamics between team mates and competitors were so on point, I recognised a lot of the situations both Sloane Emily and Sloane Devon found themselves in.
RAW BLUE by Kirsty Eagar
Raw Blue is one of those books with a very apt title. It indeed is a raw book. It’s a book about finding yourself, dealing with or avoiding the past (whichever way you see it) and coming to terms with family differences. There’re a lot of reasons for Carly to be down but she has…
CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally
Catching Jordan was one of those books I had more fun looking forward to than actually reading. For one, books about sports often get me very excited. For another, the protagonist is a girl on a guys’ team! How can this not turn out to be a great book? Simple: when the sports action itself is lacking in the book.