July was sports month. Why, you ask? First, one of my reading challenges was sports themed. Second, I ended up writing something involving baseball. Naturally, I needed to learn more about baseball, and sports in general. I’m actually playing fantasy baseball and watching it now (I mostly know what’s happening). I have a lot to learn but reading books about sports has been enlightening, not to mention fun! I’m going to split them up by category and denote their genre and reading level. The list is YA contemporary heavy. Here is your list of books about sports, some of which I have read and others I have not. Note: most (if not all) of the YA contemporaries are either romance or have a strong romance subplot.

BASEBALL

  • A Season of Daring Greatly by Ellen Emerson White– YA/new adult contemporary fiction

This book follows a young woman who is the first to be drafted to a major league baseball team (the Pirates).

  • Out of Left Field by Ellen Klages –middle grade historical fiction (with plenty of historical facts)

This book is about a fifth grader in the late 1950s who is barred from playing on her local little league team because of her gender. She decides to research the history of women in baseball–the facts she finds in the book are true!

  • Out of Left Field by Kris Hui Lee –YA contemporary

The star pitcher on Marnie’s high school baseball team, who happens to be one of her best friends, just got injured–and he pushes her to try out for the team to replace him.

  • Girl at Heart by Kelly Oram –YA contemporary

Baseball is everything to Charlie: her dad is a major league player and she’s played her whole life. Now, she’s the catcher on her high school’s baseball team. She’s always been one of the guys–but when they laugh at her for wanting to put on a dress and go to prom, she feels hurt. Marnie doesn’t have any women in her life, so she sets out to get in touch with her feminine side, and maybe make some new friends along the way.

  • Playing the Field by Christina Benjamin –YA contemporary

When Alex transfers to a new school, she quickly develops a crush on the captain of the baseball team. But when she discovers her school doesn’t have a softball team, she knows the only thing she can do is try out for baseball. Now she’s her crush’s competition!

  • The Game Can’t Love You Back by Karole Cozzo –YA contemporary

Eve is the only girl on her school’s baseball team. When her high school is absorbed by the town next to hers, she has more competition. The start pitcher has no intention of giving up his spot to Eve, even if they are attracted to each other.

  • The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach –adult contemporary

At a small college in Michigan, star baseball player Henry’s throw goes off course, his life is upended. The book follows five people whose lives are intersected and affected by baseball.

  • The Resisters by Gish Jen –adult dystopian

A dystopian set in America (now AutoAmerica) that is now divided into the Netted and Surplus–the haves and the have-nots. When a surplus girl shows an amazing aptitude for baseball, she is whisked out of her Surplus world into the Netted and onto their Olympic team, things change for her and her family–and not necessarily in a good way.

  • The Cactus League by Emily Nemens –adult contemporary

The story follows Jason Goodyear, an outfielder for the Los Angeles Lions. The novel is full of vividly drawn characters and explores the world of baseball and all those involved in it.

  • The Setup Man by T. T. Monday –adult mystery/thriller

The Setup Man is the first in a mystery series following Johnny Adcock, an older MLB pitcher turned private investigator in his free time. The story follows Johnny as he discovers a world of crime and intrigue adjacent to the world of baseball.

FOOTBALL

  • Game Change by Joseph Monninger –YA contemporary

When the quarterback on his high school football team is badly injured, backup quarterback Zeb Holloway must take his place, and in the state championship game no less. Zeb’s relationships are affected by this change as he tries to live up to expectations and thinks about where his life is headed in the future.

  • Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning–YA contemporary

Liv Rodinsky, a softball player at her private school, gets in big trouble, forcing her to transfer to her local public school and prove to the softball coach there that she can be reliable and loyal to the team. To do so, she ends up joining the football team to fill in as quarterback while their star player recovers from an injury.

  • Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock–YA contemporary

D. J. Schwenk has to do a lot of farm work for her family after her dad got injured. She is forced to work with Brian, the star of her high school’s rival football team, as he was sent to her farm to work and train for football. D.J. ends up trying out for her own school’s football team.

  • Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally –YA contemporary

Jordan is the team captain and quarterback for her high school’s football team. When a new guy transfers to her school, her place as quarterback is threatened. She also might be falling for him.

SOCCER

  • Playing the Enemy by Maggie Dallen–YA contemporary

When Hannah’s ex breaks up with her and kicks her off the intramural soccer team, she decides to join their rival team instead. When her ex assumes she’s dating her new team’s captain, she decides not to correct him.

HOCKEY

  • Playing to Win by Stephanie Street–YA contemporary

Jordan is focused on hockey. She has a rule not to date a teammate. Unfortunately, there’s a cute new guy on the team, Asher. Asher has dreams outside of hockey, but his dad is forcing him to play. Will Jordan and Asher work out their differences?

  • Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren–YA contemporary

Holland plays on the boy’s hockey team. When her team is featured as part of HockeyFest, she isn’t a fan of how focused their are on her. She wants to be known for her talent as a hockey player, not because she’s a girl playing with the guys. She finds support from an expected source: her team captain, Wes.

BONUS:

Two books involving sports that aren’t about sports:

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord involves swimming and diving

Little Creeping Things by Chelsea Ichaso involves volleyball and references football.