When you hear someone mention sports, you probably think of basketball, baseball, or soccer. But there is a whole world of sports and athletics that are not your typical "something-ball" sports. If you or your child likes sports stories and wants stories about sports we don't always talk about, here's a list of sports stories that stray from the conventional.
Adela’s step-father has just asked to legally adopt her. However, this gesture just makes her wonder more about her absent biological father. Adela investigates and finds that her paternal family are the famous Bravo family, a family of luchadors. She grows to know and love her biological family, but what will she do now they’re in the picture?
By Angela Ahn
Toronto: Tundra, 2024. Fiction. 233 pages.
Evan doesn’t do well at team sports, much to his dad’s chagrin. But while healing from a broken wrist, his physical therapist suggests training for the Dominator Ninja competition. Evan seems to have found his thing when he sprains his wrist. Suggested by his sister, he gets his family to join the team “Soiled Pants” obstacle course to compete together.
By Sally Engelfried
New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2022. Fiction. 268 pages.
Daphne is stuck with her dad for the summer while her mom films a movie in Prague. She and her dad used to be close until his alcoholism and inability to show up for her led to a skateboarding accident. Now her dad is in recovery and trying to mend the relationship, but it may take their shared love of skateboarding to help the two bond.
By Torrey Maldonado
New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023. Fiction. 135 pages.
Trev has taken up boxing, hoping that he will be able to protect his mom and sisters from his step-father, who is returning home after two years in jail for hitting Trev’s mom. His new-found strength gives him confidence, but also makes him reckless. After an accident leaves a window broken and a boy scared, he looks to male role-models for example of positive masculinity.
By Celia Pérez
New York: Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2022. Fiction. 352 pages.
Adela’s step-father has just asked to legally adopt her. However, this gesture just makes her wonder more about her absent biological father. Adela investigates and finds that her paternal family are the famous Bravo family, a family of luchadors. She grows to know and love her biological family, but what will she do now they’re in the picture?
By Steph Mided
New York: Harper Alley, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2023. Comic. 220 pages.
The new principal at Custard Creek Middle School has banned all extracurriculars except for football and cheer squad, including Sashsa’s gaming club. When they discover the school nurse is a pro-wrestler, they decide the costumes and theatrics of pro-wrestling could be a way to express themselves in a way sanctioned by the athletics-loving principal.
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