Instructions Prizes Booklist

Teens – Recommended for grades 6-12

Need some ideas for what to read? Check out these recommendations:

Fiction

[cover] Tangerine
by Edward Bloor

Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.

[cover] Leverage
by Joshua Cohen

High school sophomore Danny excels at gymnastics but is bullied, like the rest of the gymnasts, by members of the football team, until an emotionally and physically scarred new student joins the football team and forms an unlikely friendship with Danny.

[cover] Whale Talk
by Chris Crutcher

Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school's less popular students.

[cover] Gym Candy
by Carl Deuker

Groomed by his father to be a star player, football is the only thing that has ever really mattered to Mick Johnson, who works hard for a spot on the varsity team his freshman year, then tries to hold onto his edge by using steroids, despite the consequences to his health and social life.

[cover] The Ex-Games
by Jennifer Echols

When Hayden wins the girls' division of a local snowboarding competition, her ex-boyfriend Nick claims she wouldn't have a chance against a guy, prompting a battle of the sexes.

[cover] The Boyfriend League
by Rachel Hawthorne

Being a tomboy did not prepare Dani for romance. But new boyfriend potential opens up when her and her best friend's families host a summer league of baseball players.

[cover] Rash
by Pete Hautman

In a future society that has decided it would "rather be safe than free," sixteen-year-old Bo's anger control problems land him in a tundra jail where he survives with the help of his running skills and an artificial intelligence program named Bork.

[cover] Girl Overboard
by Justina Chen Headley

After a snowboarding accident, Syrah Cheng, a billionaire's daughter, must rehabilitate both her knee and her self-esteem while forging relationships with those who accept her for who she is.

[cover] All You’ve Got
by Karol Ann Hoeffner

Golden girl Lauren is star volleyball player and leader of the Madonnas. Spitfire Gabby leads the Reinas at archrival school Scared Heart. Both girls and teams sport mad skills on the court. But a twist of fate merges the Madonnas and the Reinas into one school. And one volleyball team. Now there's more at stake than winning or losing -- the girls will have to battle just to make the cut.

[cover] Open Ice
by Pat Hughes

Hockey has been Nick Taglio's life since he was five years old, so when a massive concussion benches him--possibly for good--everything seems to fall apart, including his schoolwork, his family relationships, his friendships, and his love life.

[cover] Pop
by Gordon Korman

Lonely after a midsummer move to a new town, sixteen-year-old high-school quarterback Marcus Jordan becomes friends with a retired professional linebacker who is great at training him, but whose childish behavior keeps Marcus in hot water.

[cover] The Batboy
by Mike Lupica

Even though his mother feels baseball ruined her marriage to his father, she allows fourteen-year-old Brian to become a bat boy for the Detroit Tigers, who have just drafted his favorite player back onto the team.

[cover] Boost
by Kathryn Mackel

Thirteen-year-old Savvy's dreams of starting for her elite basketball team are in danger when she is accused of taking steroids.

[cover] Throwing Like a Girl
by Weezie Kerr Mackey

After moving from Chicago to Dallas in the spring of her sophomore year, fifteen-year-old Ella finds that joining the softball team at her private school not only helps her make friends, it also provides unexpected opportunities to learn and grow.

[cover] Dairy Queen
by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

[cover] Game
by Walter Dean Myers

If Harlem high school senior Drew Lawson is going to realize his dream of playing college, then professional, basketball, he will have to improve at being coached and being a team player, especially after a new--white--student threatens to take the scouts' attention away from him.

[cover] Paranoid Park
by Blake Nelson

A sixteen-year-old Portland, Oregon skateboarder, whose parents are going through a difficult divorce, is engulfed by guilt and confusion when he accidentally kills a security guard at a train yard.

[cover] Laguna Cove
by Alyson Noel

Seventeen-year-old Anne's new life in Southern California feels more like a death sentence, with a different school, no friends, and family problems, so when she learns to surf in order to fit in, her efforts are not popular with everyone.

[cover] The Boxer and the Spy
by Robert Parker

Fifteen-year-old Terry, an aspiring boxer, uncovers the mystery behind the unexpected death of a classmate.

[cover] Ball Don’t Lie
by Matt de la Pena

Seventeen-year-old Sticky lives to play basketball at school and at Lincoln Rec Center in Los Angeles and is headed for the pros, but he is unaware of the many dangers--including his own past--that threaten his dream.

[cover] Peak
by Roland Smith

A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.

[cover] Slide or Die
by Todd Strasser

Kennin is drawn into the dangerous world of racing cars in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[cover] Pretty Tough: A Novel
by Liz Tigelaar

Two feuding sisters from Malibu, California, take their rivalry to the soccer field when both girls make the high school team.

[cover] Black and White
by Paul Volponi

Two star high school basketball players, one black and one white, experience the justice system differently after committing a crime together and getting caught.

[cover] Wrestling Sturbridge
by Rich Wallace

Stuck in a small town where no one ever leaves and relegated by his wrestling coach to sit on the bench while his best friend becomes state champion, Ben decides he can't let his last high school wrestling season slip by without challenging his friend and the future.

Non-Fiction

[cover] The Pick-Up Game
by Marc Aronson, Ed.

A series of short stories by such authors as Walter Dean Myers, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Joseph Bruchac, interspersed with poems and photographs, provides different perspectives on a game of streetball played one steamy July day at the West 4th Street court in New York City known as The Cage.

[cover] Have Board, Will Travel: The Definitive History of Surf, Skate and Snow
by Jamie Brisick

With color-coded storylines, iconic graphics, and an innovative design, this book covers everything from the best places to ride to brief histories of each sport to lifestyles, personalities, performance, designs, and insider tips.

[cover] Careers in Focus: Sports

Defines the top twenty-two careers in sports-related fields, discussing the nature of the work, educational or training requirements, getting started, advancement possibilities, salary, employment outlook, and sources of more information.

[cover] Speed Show: How NASCAR Won the Heart of America
by Dave Caldwell

From its roots during Prohibition to today's die-hard fans, Dave Caldwell weaves together his firsthand observations as a NASCAR reporter with excerpts from The New York Times archives to give readers an inside look at the spectacle that is America's new favorite pastime.

[cover] Girls Yoga Book: Stretch Your Body, Open Your Mind & Have Fun
by Michaela Caldwell

Providing girls with important tools for coping with common stressors in their lives, such as peer pressure, body image, and school and family problems, this volume introduces readers to yoga poses, breathing, and meditation exercises using clear, illustrated guidelines.

[cover] Breathe: Yoga for Teens
by Mary Kaye Chryssicas

Speaking directly to teen girls, this guide explains the benefits of a peaceful, positive outlook in developing a yoga practice and in navigating the wild world of high school, complete with inspirational quotes and embarrassing stories from the author's own hilarious teen years.

[cover] Performance-Enhancing Drugs
by Laura K. Egendorf

Explores the fairness, dangers, and prevention of performance enhancing drug use.

[cover] Ultimate Sports: Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults
by Donald Gallo, Ed.

A collection of sixteen short stories about teenage athletes written by well-known authors in the field, including award-winning novelists Robert Lipsyte and Chris Crutcher.

[cover] Skateboarding: Ramp Tricks
by Evan Goodfellow

Explores thirty-five tricks in sequential photographs with captions. Also discusses the history of ramp skateboarding and includes biographies of influential riders.

[cover] Sports Science Projects: The Physics of Balls in Motion
by Madeline Goodstein

Presents experiments and science fair projects that demonstrate the differences between kinds of sports balls and the relationship between their design and performance.

[cover] In the Paint: Tattoos of the NBA and the Stories Behind Them
by Andrew Gottlieb

This collection of photos of the wildest, weirdest and most interesting tattoos of the NBA is accompanied by firsthand accounts of what the tattoos mean and why they're there. It includes information on players such as Shaquielle O'Neal, Karl Malone, Kenyon Martin, Allen Iverson, and Jason Williams.

[cover] Girls Guide to Martial Arts
by Alice Jablonsky

Written especially for teens, this book presents ideas and exercises that both energize a girl's body and soothe her spirit. The book takes inspiration from a variety of Asian practices and exercises, and features clear, easy-to-follow directions and illustrations that are both clever and instructive – all presented in full color.

[cover] Prince of Tennis
by Takeshi Konomi

This popular sports manga explores the difference between practiced technique and innate power. Ryoma is a former U.S. junior tennis champion who attends a Japanese academy, where his skill and natural talent make him nearly unbeatable. The younger students are inspired by him, but he's ruffling the feathers of the older tennis team members. Then the journalists appear, trying to discover the next champion, adding to the pressure. There's lots of tennis action, dramatically illustrated, and the characters, already pretty boys, are made even more attractive with their intensity.

[cover] Play Ball Like the Hall of Famers: The Inside Scoops from 19 Baseball Greats
by Steven Krasner

Featuring some of the greatest players to ever don a baseball uniform, each chapter includes an interview with an athlete, a glossary of baseball terms, anecdotes from the player's career, and memories from his youth, as well as advice for getting and maintaining a mental edge during the game.

[cover] Refresh, Refresh
by Danica Novgorodoff

Refresh, Refresh is the story of three teenagers on the cusp of high school graduation and their struggle to make hard decisions with no role models to follow; to discover the possibilities for the future when all the doors are slamming in their faces; and to believe their fathers will come home alive so they can be boys again.

[cover] Skater Girl: A Girls Guide to Skateboarding
by Patty Segovia

From lingo and board facts to fashion advice and "The Top 10 Reasons Why Skateboarding Rocks," this book gives girls the lowdown on all the need-to-know stuff. Includes full-color photos & illustrations.

[cover] LeBron James
by Anne Wallace Sharp

Chronicles the life of LeBron James from his impoverished childhood to becoming a rookie sensation on the basketball court.

[cover] Nutrition for Sports and Exercise
by Lori Smolin

Insightful, well organized, and clearly written, Nutrition for Sport and Exercise integrates nutrition and exercise physiology principles, emphasizing scientific reasoning and examining research studies to illuminate the evidence for current nutritional recommendations.

[cover] Crimson Hero
by Mitsuba Takanashi

The series follows Nobara Sumiyoshi, a 15-year-old tomboy with a passion for volleyball. Her love of the sport is disapproved by her mother who wishes Nobara to become the next hostess for theryotei (old-fashioned Japanese restaurant) run by the family. What follows is a drama of a girl's dream of making it into volleyball, and her difficult journey in fulfilling that dream.

[cover] Foiled
by Jane Yolen

The chapters in this clever graphic novel follow the terms of a fencing match, from "Engagement" to "Disengagement," with successive stages in between. Most of the illustrations are done in two tones as Aliera Carstairs makes it through her humdrum days in high school, where she doesn't fit in. Color begins to appear when she puts on her fencing mask at Grand Central Station and the fantasy begins.