Get hype to watch your favorite competitions or open your eyes to a world of unfamiliar athletics with these six teen-approved sports reads chosen by Library Tech Ella.

Gym Candy by Carl Deuker (football)

How far would you go to prove yourself? Mick Johnson has been playing football since he was four years old. And he’s good. Really good. His dad, a sensational college running back who was drafted into the NFL, has made sure of that. But when Mick comes up short in a huge game as a freshman, it’s clear that there’s something missing in his game. What’s a kid with big dreams, and an even bigger chip on his shoulder, to do to even the score? The answer: gym candy. But if Mick isn’t careful, his dreams could dissolve like a pill on the tongue.

If you’re not well-versed in football lingo, this may be a tough one to follow steadily. However, with a little googling, even the newest football fan can get behind an underdog playing for high stakes on the field and in life.

After the Shot Drops by Randy Ribay (basketball)

Bunny Thompson is an extraordinary basketball player. When the local private school offers him a scholarship to play for them, he’d be a fool to say no. But now his whole neighborhood feels betrayed and his best friend and former teammate, Nasir, won’t even talk to him. What’s more – Bunny feels like an alien navigating his new school and Nasir’s cousin, Wallace, is about to be evicted, among other troubles. Will Nasir find a way to help his cousin and his best friend or is there only room for one of them to have a bright future?

This book is about friendship and betrayal a lot more than it is about basketball. The stakes are higher in these boys’ personal lives than they could ever be on the court, especially given how skilled Bunny is at the sport. That being said, Bunny’s future as a basketball star seems to be out of his hands for the bulk of the story which is as frustrating as it is compelling. Also, be advised: this book is most suitable for teens 15 and up due to the fair amount of cursing involved.

Peak by Roland Smith (climbing)

Climbing is an extreme sport. Climbing Mount Everest is a league of its own. And that’s precisely why 14-year-old Peak Marcello is going to try and do it. After getting arrested for climbing skyscrapers in New York, Peak chooses living with his estranged father, the owner of a respected climbing expedition company in remote Tibet, over Juvenile Detention. While Peak may have escaped the conspicuous menace of jail, hidden agendas and deadly adventures await him in the mountains as he competes to become the youngest climber ever to reach Everest’s peak. Is the promise of prestige and profit really worth losing his life? His father would say yes.

This book is easy to follow, non-stop suspense. If you’re a climber, you’ll be on the edge of your seat as Roland Smith describes the precarious situations in which Peak, and his fellow climbers, find themselves. If you’re not a climber, you’ll need to take calming breaths while wondering why anyone would risk life and limb on a freezing cold mountain as Smith just to fulfill a draw, or outright addiction, to the sport.

Spinning by Tillie Walden (figure skating)

Tillie Walden never really feels like she belongs. Not on the ice twice a day when she practices ice skating, not at home with her mom, not at her private school, not even in her own skin. In this graphic novel memoir, Tillie navigates her life from 6^th grade until just before 12^th grade, experiencing some shocking traumas, jubilant revelations, and unexpected situations in the meantime. She even finds something that brings her some semblance of enjoyment: art. But is art the answer to everyone’s burning question regarding what Tillie should pursue after high school?

I love graphic novels and this one was no exception. Through illustrated scenes of her adolescence overlaid by musings of the now 25-year-old Walden, Tillie works through a lot of coming-of-age issues in such a short span. I honestly just wanted the world to cut her a break at times. If you’re prone to depression, this book may take you out of your happy place and into Tillie’s struggle to just be herself within a world that just wants her to be something else. I wouldn’t even say Tillie finds herself at the end of it all, not totally; but if you hold out and finish the book, the author’s note explains why.

The Track Series by Jason Reynolds (track)

Running is all Castle “Ghost” Crenshaw has ever known. It all started with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a little boy, chased him and his mother with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems–and running away from them–until he meets Coach, an ex-Olympic Medalist who sees something in Ghost: natural talent. If Ghost can stay on track, he could be the best sprinter in the city. Can Ghost harness his raw talent for speed or will his past finally catch up to him?

Each book in the series focuses on one of the track team’s elite members. Ghost, Lu, Patina, and Sunny–four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities clash like titans. Normally, they could just avoid each other; but they’ve been chosen for an elite middle school track team–a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other but to themselves. -from the publisher, edited by Ella.

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis (softball)

Mickey Catalan’s a softball player, first and foremost. But when an accident tears up her leg, she has to work extra hard to push through the pain and get back on the field. To help, she relies on Oxy, first the ones prescribed by her doctor but eventually any she can get her hands on. With her entire identity at stake, Mickey justifies her pill use as a tactic to speed up the healing process and get her back behind the plate. But as the habit becomes an addiction, Mickey slowly finds herself becoming a different person – one who is far removed from the reliable teammate and tough-as-nails athlete she used to be.

Mindy McGinnis does a great job capturing what it’s like to not only be an addict but also the gradualness of becoming an addict. Since Mickey is the narrator, it’s apparent when she starts to act like someone completely different than the person we meet at the beginning of the book. Almost every choice she makes is influenced by her addiction and we, the audience, know there’s just no stopping the horror train coming for this girl though she does everything in her power not to see it herself. McGinnis balances the stakes of Mickey’s softball experience with the exponentially higher stakes of Mickey’s addiction experience to create a highly readable book for athletes and non-athletes alike.