If there’s something I’ve realised in the past year of blogging, it’s that I need to read more. BUT SARAH, HOW ARE YOU PLANNING ON READING MORE WHEN YOU’RE ALREADY AIMING TO READ 200 BOOKS THIS YEAR?! Agreed. Unless I quit uni and quit my jobs and quit going outside (because who needs vitamin D when supplements are a thing?), it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to read many more books that that. Believe it or not, I try to have a life outside of reading. I tend to forget that fact quite a lot though…

BUT ANYWAY. What I meant was that I need to read MORE of different stuff! Stuff I haven’t picked up before. I’m so sick of the same clichéd contemporaries, and which I will admit that I’ve really diversified my reading in the past couple of years and I’m loving all the queer stories I’ve been devouring and all the amazing novels featuring POC leads, there’s still more books to be read out there. I’ve barely even touched historical fiction, high fantasy intimidates me, and trying to venture into the NA realm is a scary thought I’d rather save for another day. Or maybe I’ll just put that thought on pause until I’m trying to get to sleep tonight. That sounds like a good idea to me.

However, I’m not going to be talking about any of those things today. Today, I want to talk about another aspect of reading I haven’t really ventured too deep into yet — SPORTS YA. That’s right! In case you didn’t already realise, there are young adult stories about pretty much every aspect of teenage-hood out there. First love? Check. Cheesy high school proms? Correctamundo. Love triangles, and love curing mental illness, and the gay sidekick? Done and dusted! AND NOW — NOVELS FOR THAT YOUNG SPORTS PERSON IN YOUR LIFE.

Let me get something off my chest — I’m not really that into sports. … PHEW, THANK YOU FOR BEING SO UNDERSTANDING. Gosh, I really thought you guys would hate me for saying that. I mean, it’s not like we’re all super into books here and spend our time reading blogs ABOUT books and living in bookstores. It’s not like we never see the light of day, forget that humans need actual food, and try to charge ourselves with our laptop chargers when we’re delirious from a lack of sleep because we were trying to finish THAT BOOK. Haha ha ha… I’m not speaking from experience or anything.

But despite me not being super into sports, I think it’s time to rip off the floaties and dive into this whole different playing field. SEE? I MADE TWO SPORTS REFERENCES IN ONE SENTENCE. I THINK I CAN DO THIS. So yes, it’s time for me to start reading more YA books that I haven’t previously been super interested in, because you know what? Some of the best reads you’ll experience are those that you took a chance on and lay just outside your reading comfort zone. You’ll thank me one day.

Today I’d like to share some of the sports YA books I’ve already had the chance to read, and some I hope to read in the near future. Enjoy!

Wing Jones

Wing Jones is nothing like what I expected it to be. I was completely, utterly, and irrevocably blown away by this novel, and even though it’s one of two sports YA books I’ve read recently, it’s one that I know I’ll be recommending for years to come. I adored the elements of magical realism that were intwined in the ‘running’ thread of the storyline, and I loved how this was used as a form of self-help after a tragic incident.

 This book was just like a hug in page form. The family dynamics felt genuine and realistic, the running was worked seamlessly into the narrative that made it feel like it wasn’t really a sports YA book, and it left me a little different from when I started reading it. IT’S SIMPLY SENSATIONAL. If you haven’t picked up this book yet, you have to make that one of your top priorities.

The Harper Effect

I must admit, I was initially intimidated by this book because of the amount of talk about tennis very early on. There was references to the game that I didn’t understand and meetings with coaches, and it made me question whether this was going to be a book I related to. However, the further into this book I got, I found it easier to slip into the narrative and follow the life of Harper and her aspirations.

While I didn’t condone the actions of the protagonist sometimes and dislike the love triangle trope (especially because it’s between two sisters and a guy they both have a crush on) if you’re willing to overlook these minor details, you might enjoy this summery contemporary that takes place on the tennis court.

Fence

Okay, I’m kind of cheating with this one because it’s a comic and not a book, but it’s written by our favourite C.S. Pacat, author of Captive Prince. While this comic is only up to its third issue at the moment, I’ve loved every single page. The illustrations are gorgeous, the characters feel like they could step right off the page, and I cannot WAIT to see where this story goes. I’ve heard that this is going to be a queer, m/m love story, and I need more of those in my life. PLUS, FENCING LOOKS SO COOL!

Harry Potter

One word: QUIDDITCH.

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And now for some sports YA I’m hoping to read soon!

Head of the River

• rowing competition
• self-doubt and high stakes
• #LoveOzYA

Coming Up For Air

• swimming
• missing out on the high school experience
• cute romance

Phantom Limbs

• grief
• aspirations to be an Olympic swimmer
• heartbreaking

Girl Against the Universe

• bad luck
• tragedy
• irresistible aspiring tennis player

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

• cheerleading
• sexual assault
• blame and fighting back

Have you read any of these books I’ve mentioned? Do you read many sports YA books? Do you have any recommendations? Are there any sports you’d like to see included in YA? I’d love to know!

Thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for providing me with a copy of The Harper Effect in exchange for an honest review!