{"id":1453,"date":"2024-07-31T20:34:48","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T20:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/?p=1453"},"modified":"2024-07-31T20:34:48","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T20:34:48","slug":"an-olympic-selection-of-sports-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/2024\/07\/31\/an-olympic-selection-of-sports-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"An Olympic Selection of Sports Fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2024 Olympic Games began last Friday, and I could not be more excited! Whether you\u2019re an athlete, a die-hard sports fan, or only care about the Olympics, we hope you enjoy these sports-focused books from our fiction collection!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Gravity<\/span><\/i> by Sarah Demina [Boxing] <\/span><\/p>\n

When Gravity Delgado walks into Cops ‘n Kids, a no-frills Brooklyn boxing gym, and starts <\/span>working with the\u00a0legendary Coach Thomas, she joins a true melting pot of fighters. There’s the flirtatious Lefty (a southpaw), hard-to-beat D-Minus (“They call me D-Minus ’cause I’m all you need”), artistic Kimani “Monster” Browne, and a host of others. At the gym, Gravity finds the unexpected: the father she’s never had in her coach, not one but two romantic prospects, and, most importantly, a love and skill for boxing. If she can stay focused, despite her troubled home life, she might just have a shot at the Olympics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Find this book at Uni – Fiction D3957gr OR Request it here!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Fence: Striking Distance<\/span><\/i> by Sarah Rees Brennan and Johanna the Mad [Fencing]<\/span><\/p>\n

Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion who dreams of getting the\u00a0proper training he could never afford. After earning a place on the elite Kings Row fencing team, Nicholas must prove himself to his rival, Seiji Katayma, and navigate the clashes, friendships, and relationships between his teammates on the road to state championships\u2014where Nicholas might finally have the chance to spar with his golden-boy half-brother.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach Williams decides to take advantage of the boys’ morale after a recent victory and assigns them a course of team building exercises to further deepen their bonds. It takes a shoplifting scandal, a couple of moonlit forest strolls, several hilariously bad dates, and a whole lot of introspection for the team to realize they are stronger together than they could ever be apart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Find this book at Uni – Fiction B7509fe OR Request it here!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Breathing Underwater<\/span><\/i> by Abbey Nash [Swimming]<\/span><\/p>\n

Seventeen-year-old Tess Cooper lives by three train hard, study hard, work hard. Swimming is her bes<\/span>t chance at a\u00a0college scholarship. It\u2019s what her parents, her coaches, and even her best friend expect from her\u2014and Tess can always deliver.<\/span><\/p>\n

Until tragedy strikes. Tess has a seizure, and her world suddenly becomes one of doctor visits, missed practices, and a summer job stuck behind a counter\u2014not sitting high in the lifeguard chair like every year before.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, her spot goes to new guy Charlie. Sure, his messy hair and laid-back demeanor sends Tess\u2019 heart racing, but this isn\u2019t really the time. She\u2019s got to focus on getting back in the pool\u2014regardless of what her doctor or anyone else says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Find this book at Uni – Fiction N171br OR Request it here!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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We Are the Wildc<\/span><\/i>ats<\/span><\/i> by Siobhan Vivian [Field Hockey]<\/span><\/p>\n

Tomorrow, the Wildcat varsity field hockey squad will play the first game of their new season. <\/span>B<\/span>ut at tonight\u2019s team\u00a0sleepover, the girls are all about forging the bonds of trust, loyalty, and friendship necessary to win.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everything hinges on the midnight initiation ceremony\u2014a beloved tradition and the only facet of being a Wildcat that the girls control. Until now.<\/p>\n

Coach\u2014a handsome former college player revered and feared in equal measure\u2014changes the plan and spins his team on a new adventure. One where they take a rival team\u2019s mascot for a joyride, crash a party in their pajamas, break into the high school for the perfect picture.<\/span><\/p>\n

But as the girls slip out of their comfort zone, so do some long-held secrets. And just how far they\u2019re willing to go for their team takes them all\u2014especially Coach\u2014by surprise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Find this book at Uni – Fiction V838wi OR Request it here!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Sadia<\/em> by Colleen Nelson [Basketball]<\/span><\/p>\n

Fifteen-year-old Sadia Ahmadi is passionate about one thing: basketball. Her best friend Mariam, o<\/span>n the other hand, wants to get noticed by the popular crowd and has started de-jabbing, removing her hijab, at school every morning. Sadia\u2019s mom had warned her that navigating high school could be tricky. As much as she hates\u00a0to admit it, her mom was right.<\/p>\n

When tryouts for an elite basketball team are announced, Sadia jumps at the opportunity. Her talent speaks for itself. Her head scarf, on the other hand, is a problem; especially when a discriminatory rule means she has to choose between removing her hijab and not playing. Mariam, Sadia\u2019s parents, and her teammates all have different opinions about what she should do. But it is Sadia who has to find the courage to stand up for herself and fight for what is right \u2014 on and off the court.<\/span><\/p>\n

Find this book at Uni – Fiction N3319s \u00a0OR Request it here!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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** All book summaries and images courtesy of Goodreads!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2024 Olympic Games began last Friday, and I could not be more excited! Whether you\u2019re an athlete, a die-hard sports fan, or only care about the Olympics, we hope you enjoy these sports-focused books from our fiction collection!   Gravity by Sarah Demina [Boxing] When Gravity Delgado walks into Cops ‘n Kids, a no-frills […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":809,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[62,18],"class_list":["post-1453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uni-high-reads","tag-fiction","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/809"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1453"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1468,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions\/1468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/uni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}