Book picks similar to
When It Counts (2016, #2) by Lauren Hopkins
gymnastics
young-adult
sports
fiction
Shattered (The Illusion of Truth #2)
Jenetta Penner - 2021
the Trouble with Hate is...
Elizabeth Stevens - 2019
…it’s safer. …it’s often not hate at all. The Granger and Drake families have been through everything together; the suicide of the eldest Granger son, the Drake patriarch’s cancer diagnosis, family holidays with only slight maiming, and more dance recitals than anyone would care to remember. Leilani Granger can’t stand the person Casper Drake has become, and Casper doesn’t even recognise his best mate’s little sister anymore. Loving each other is second-nature, but they don’t know how not to hate each other either. As they face losing Leilani’s only remaining brother and Casper’s best mate to his inner demons, old habits lead them back to each other for comfort. But, after one night of a deeper connection than either of them were ready for, the lines between the emotional and the physical start to blur. Leilani wasn’t the kind to lose herself in meaningless sex. Casper’s been doing it for years. It's the only time they can forget the storm clouds in their lives. It’s the only time they can remember the sunshine. It’s the only time hate doesn’t get in the way. But, the trouble with hate is…it’s often not hate at all. NB: Contains mature content. Not suitable for younger readers. Please be aware that this story is set in Australia and therefore uses Australian English spelling and syntax.
The Starless Sea
Erin Morgenstern - 2019
As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.
With a Twist
Staci Hart - 2015
She’s spent six years pirouetting and pliéing her way up the ranks of the New York Ballet with her eye on the prize and love in the back seat. But now that Blane Baker -- Lily’s long time crush -- is finally single, she’ll throw her rules out the window without thinking twice. Reality with Blane isn’t as epic as the fantasy she imagined, and the truth sends her spinning straight into the arms of the man she never knew she’d always wanted. West Williams has been friends with Lily since the day she moved into their building and he saved her armoire from a swift, sudden death by staircase. Their friendship has always been easy, the boundaries clearly defined. With neither of them willing to risk their relationship, they’ve drifted happily through the years as companions, never considering more. That is, until they do. And that realization changes everything.
Innocents
Cathy Coote - 1999
Forcing someone vulnerable and naive into a sexual relationship to satisfy a twisted desire is perverted, even evil. But when the perpetrator is a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl, is she culpable? And if the victim is her thirty-four-year-old teacher, shouldn't he have known better? When the nameless young narrator of Innocents decides to seduce her teacher, she immediately realizes that the power of her sexuality is greater than she ever imagined. She leaves the aunt and uncle who are her guardians and moves in with her teacher; together, they quickly embark on a journey into their darkest desires. Unforgettable, disturbing, and morally complex, Innocents permanently unsettles our notions of innocence, experience, and power, and suggests that we all are culpable.
We Were Here
Daisy Prescott - 2016
This is the story of seven friends. We met in college, completely free for the first time in our lives and determined to enjoy every minute of it. For four years, we gossiped and flirted, partied and road-tripped. We were inseparable. Each of us has our own story of falling in or out of love. Of finding out who we are. Of growing up. We thought we knew everything. We knew nothing. We Were Here is where the Modern Love Stories begins, in a standalone that perfectly captures the humor, angst, and sheer chaos of college.
The Deal
Elle Kennedy - 2015
But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she's carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush's attention, she'll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice... even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date....and it's going to be oh so good.All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he's worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he's all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn't take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn't going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.
A Trip to the Stars
Nicholas Christopher - 2000
A young boy and his adopted aunt become separated when the youngster is kidnapped by his wealthy, eccentric great-uncle, but mysterious ties continue to link the two unknowingly over the fifteen-year separation.
As She Fades
Abbi Glines - 2018
They were supposed to spend the summer planning for college, for a bright future full of possibility. Together. Instead, Vale spends long days in the hospital, hoping Crawford will awaken.Slate Allen, a college friend of Vale's brother, has been visiting his dying uncle at the same hospital. When he and Vale meet, she can't deny the flutter of an illicit attraction. She tries to ignore her feelings, but she's not immune to Slate's charm. Slowly, they form a cautious friendship.Then, Crawford wakes up . . . with no memory of Vale or their relationship. Heartbroken, Vale opts to leave for college and move on with her life. Except now, she's in Slate's territory, and their story is about to take a very strange turn.
The White Boy Shuffle
Paul Beatty - 1996
There, he begins to undergo a startling transformation from neighbourhood outcast to basketball superstar, and eventually to reluctant messiah of a ‘divided, downtrodden people’. A bombastic coming-of-age novel that has the uncanny ability to make readers want to laugh and cry at the same time,Beatty mingles horrific reality with wild fancy in this outlandish, laugh-out-loud funny and poignant vision of contemporary America.
The Studying Hours
Sara Ney - 2016
ARROGANT. A**HOLE. No doubt about it, Sebastian ‘Oz’ Osborne is the university’s most celebrated student athlete—and possibly the biggest douchebag. A walking, talking cliché, he has a filthy mouth, a fantastic body, and doesn’t give a sh*t about what you or anyone else thinks. SMART. CLASSY. CONSERVATIVE. Make no mistake, Jameson Clarke may be the university’s most diligent student—but she is no prude. Spending most of her time in the hallowed halls of the library, James is wary of pervs, jocks, and douchebags—and Oz Osborne is all three. She’s smart, sarcastic—and not what he expected. …EVERY DOUCHBAG HAS HIS WEAKNESS. He wants to be friends. He wants to spend time with her. He wants to drive her crazy. He wants… Her.
What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen
Kate Fagan - 2017
This was a girl who succeeded at everything she tried, and who was only getting started.But when Maddy began her long-awaited college career, her parents noticed something changed. Previously indefatigable Maddy became withdrawn, and her thoughts centered on how she could change her life. In spite of thousands of hours of practice and study, she contemplated transferring from the school that had once been her dream. When Maddy's dad, Jim, dropped her off for the first day of spring semester, she held him a second longer than usual. That would be the last time Jim would see his daughter.What Made Maddy Run began as a piece that Kate Fagan, a columnist for espnW, wrote about Maddy's life. What started as a profile of a successful young athlete whose life ended in suicide became so much larger when Fagan started to hear from other college athletes also struggling with mental illness. This is the story of Maddy Holleran's life, and her struggle with depression, which also reveals the mounting pressures young people, and college athletes in particular, face to be perfect, especially in an age of relentless connectivity and social media saturation.
My Most Excellent Year
Steve Kluger - 2008
Your letter will be kept in our files and someone will get back to you if there is an opening. Thank you for thinking of me.Respectfully,Alejandra PerezP.S. It's not Allie. It's Ale. Meet T.C., who is valiantly attempting to get Alejandra to fall in love with him; Alejandra, who is playing hard to get and is busy trying to sashay out from under the responsibilities of being a diplomat's daughter; and T.C.'s brother Augie, who is gay and in love and everyone knows it but him.
Texas Rein
Becky Rodgers Boyette - 2011
Now she wants only to raise her son, Samuel, and fly high on the East Coast social scene. When her father calls from the Texas family ranch in need of help, Cassie can’t think of a worse fate than returning to sleepy Summerville. Then her father clues her into his bucket-list dream – namely to turn his prize foal into the first Olympic champion Reining horse. As if that weren’t crazy enough, he enlists the help of a hottie local cowboy who looks enough like George Strait to make Cassie’s heart quiver. The last thing she wants is a hometown hook-up, but Chase Eversoll could be their ticket to the Olympics. Willing or not, Cassie’s in for another wild ride … just once could she finish on top?
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas - 2015
So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.