Welcome to SPORTY GIRL BOOKS. At SPORTY GIRL, we want to give all girls the chance to love, watch, play, read, and write about any sport that interests them. We look forward to the day when the words, "You play like a girl," is the biggest compliment anyone can receive.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Sporty Girl Books coming in 2015



There are some awesome Sporty Girl Books coming out in 2015. I’ve included the cover art, if available, though many of them have not revealed covers yet. I can’t wait for these! If you know of any more, please add them in the comments!

Descriptions are from Goodreads, so in some cases, details are limited.  If you have more information about a title, please let me know and I’ll update the post.

The Boy Next Door – Young Adult – Katie Van Ark – January 2015

Maddy Spier has been in love with the boy next door forever. As his figure skating partner she spends time in his arms every day. But she’s also seen his arms around other girls—lots of other girls.

Gabe can't imagine skating with anyone but Maddy, and together they have a real chance at winning some serious gold medals. So, he’s determined to keep thinking of her like a sister. After all, he’s never had a romantic relationship that lasted for more than two weeks.

But when their coach assigns a new romantic skating program, everything changes. Will this be the big break that Maddy’s been hoping for or the big breakup that Gabe has always feared?

Breaking the Ice – Middle Grade – Gail Nall – January 2015

Kaitlin has always dreamed of being a champion figure skater, and she’s given up a lot to pursue her passion. But after having a totally uncharacteristic and decidedly NOT figure-skating-approved tantrum after getting her scores at a major competition she’s dropped by her coach and prestigious skating club.

When no other club in town will have her, she's forced to join the ridiculed and rundown Fallton Club, jokingly referred to as the Fall Down Club. At first Kaitlin thinks this is a complete disaster, but after meeting some of the other skaters, including a boy (who happens to have the most perfect hair she’s ever seen) Kaitlin thinks it might actually not be so bad.

But when she’s tasked with learning a whole new program right before Regionals and figures out that almost all the other skaters target Fallton, she thinks joining the Fall Down Club may just be the second biggest mistake she’s ever made.

In this figure skating themed debut, Kaitlin learns that when you fall down, you have to pick yourself up – even if it’s in front of judges and a crowd.

Defenseless (Diamond Girls #3) – Young Adult – Elisa Dane – January 2015

High school senior, Claire Reilly’s world revolves around All-Star cheerleading. The Diamond Girls, are gearing up for a major competition, which, if they win will allow them to compete at Worlds for the first time. But the unimaginable happens, and both Claire and her team are rocked by a devastating loss. Determined to get to Worlds any way she can, Claire finds help from the last person she imagined would give it—up and coming UFC fighter and notorious bad boy, Ryker Vaughn.

Fouled out of the octagon by a dirty opponent and a vicious kick to the head, Ryker loses control when he learns he may never fight again. Angry over the loss of his mother, an unsupportive family, and the world in general, he gives up, gives in, and unleashes his rage—destroying part of his cousin’s cheer gym in the process. Things go from bad to worse when Ryker is given an ultimatum: help the Diamond Girls compete for a bid to Worlds, or go to jail.

Overwhelmed with anger, sadness, and grief, the unlikely pair learn that what you see is not always what you get, and that the most difficult losses sometimes open the door to a frightening, yet amazing new future

Any Way You Slice It - Young Adult - Kristine Carlson Asselin – April 2015

Penelope Spaulding just can't catch a break. Between long hours at the family restaurant, homework, and her parents' plans for her future, it's hard to find a spare moment to breathe. But when she laces up her skates and steps on the ice, everything slips away...

Racing around the rink allows her to blow off steam after yet another fight with her dad about going to culinary school. So when Jake Gomes, the bad boy who lives down the street, dares her to join the Rink Rats, the local misfit hockey team, she surprises herself and joins in silent defiance of her father and his expectations.

The more she plays, the easier it is to keep lying, and soon Pen finds it impossible to come clean. She’s sneaking out to practice—and loving every minute of it. It doesn’t take long for her to fall in love with hockey…and Jake’s not half bad either. But she knows it can’t last. As soon as her dad finds out, she’ll be benched. For good.

She’s absolutely not going to tell her parents until she’s sure it will be worth the inevitable fight. Not only is she skipping shifts at Slice Pizza while a foodie reality show is on the horizon, but her lies are starting to take their toll on her game. It’s only a matter of time before everything falls apart.

With the team counting on her and with her relationship with Jake on the line, will she have to sacrifice the thing she wants most for the people she loves? Or can she step up and take her best shot?

Play On – Young Adult – Michelle Smith – April 2015

In the small town of Lewis Creek, baseball is everything. Especially for all-star pitcher Austin Braxton, who has a one-way ticket out of town with his scholarship to a top university. All that stands between him and a new start is one final season. But when Austin starts flunking Chemistry, his picture-perfect future is in jeopardy. A failing grade means zero playing time, and zero playing time means no scholarship.

Enter Marisa Marlowe, the new girl in town who gets a job at his momma's flower shop. Not only is Marisa some home-schooled super-genius; she's also a baseball fanatic and more than willing to help Austin study. As the two grow closer, there's something about Marisa that makes Austin want more than just baseball and out of Lewis Creek -- he wants a future with her. But Marisa has a past that still haunts her, one that she ran all the way to South Carolina to escape.

As Austin starts to peel back the layers of Marisa’s pain, it forces him to look beyond the façade of himself and everyone he thought he knew in his town. What he sees instead is that in a small town like Lewis Creek, maybe baseball isn’t everything—maybe it is just the thing that ties them all together.

What Happens In Water – Young Adult – Diana Gallagher – September 2015

In which a girl afraid to take risks since a gymnastics injury must take charge of her future after her best friend's failed suicide attempt.

Little Red Gliding Hood – Picture Book – Tara Lazar – October 2015

A pairs skating competition is coming up, and first prize is a new pair of skates!

Little Red Gliding Hood knows she can win, but can she find a partner? Hansel already has Gretel, the Dish is skating with the Spoon, and the Seven Dwarfs are forming a hockey team instead! Well, there is one shady character who's interested...

(This isn't the cover, but Author Tara Lazar was kind enough to share some of the artwork from the interior with us!)

Cross My Heart – Young Adult – Mari Mancusi – December 2015

Cross My Heart tells the story of an eighth-grade snowboarder who returns to her elite mountain boarding school after an accident nearly destroys her dreams of Olympic gold, and finds herself faced with pressuring parents, frenemies, and first love.

On Ice – Young Adult – Cate Cameron – 2015

After her mother's sudden death, Karen Webber is shipped off to live with her estranged father and his new family, despite the fact that she's never met any of them. As she struggles to adjust to her new world, she finds Tyler MacDonald, star of the local Ontario Hockey League team, going through his own hard times. Together, they find strength to stand up for themselves, and for each other.

The Harder You Fall – Young Adult – Joy Hensley – 2015

About a girl in the world of mixed martial arts!

The Trick to Landing – Young Adult – Jenny Kaczorowski – 2015

The Trick to Landing is about Summer, a semi-pro skateboarder trying to build a new life after a DUI. After moving to Oceanside, she meets Bastian, a brilliant photographer fighting for a future beyond the bleeding disorder that defines his life.


5 comments:

  1. A great line-up of sporty-girl books! I used to be a figure skater, so I'm looking forward to all the frozen titles!

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  2. Wow! Kris this is a great list. So many sporty girl books to put on my TBR list. I'm especially looking forward to your hockey title... :) and the introduction of female characters in until-now-male-dominated sports-- hockey, mixed martial arts, snowboarding-- is exciting. Nice to see Tara's PB, if there are other sporty girl PB's coming out this year, I hope authors/illustrators will contact us for a round up!

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  3. I am so excited to see so many new books coming out. I can't wait to add Tara's book to my fractured fairy tale unit and to finally seeing Kris' book in real life.

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  4. Such a great list to look forward to. I'm excited for Play On. I was a huge softball player growing up. I'm surprised how many on the list are figure skating. Kris! It's so good to see your book up there!!

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  5. Congrats, Kristine, for your book "Any Way You Slice It" being published in April year.

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