Teen Football Fiction

The Super Bowl is only a few days away!  Let's get in the mood with 10 YA books that feature American Football.

Call Me By My Name by John Ed Bradley - From former football star and bestselling author John Ed Bradley comes a searing look at love, life, and football in the face of racial adversity. "Heartbreaking," says Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak.
Growing up in Louisiana in the late 1960s, Tater Henry has experienced a lot of prejudice. His town is slow to desegregate and slower still to leave behind deep-seated prejudice.
Despite the town's sensibilities, Rodney Boulett and his twin sister Angie befriend Tater, and as their friendship grows stronger, Tater and Rodney become an unstoppable force on the football field. That is, until Rodney sees Tater and Angie growing closer, too, and Rodney's world is turned upside down. Teammates, best friends--Rodney's world is threatened by a hate he did not know was inside of him.
As the town learns to accept notions like a black quarterback, some changes may be too difficult to accept.

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally - What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.
But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?

The Extra Yard by Mike Lupica - Teddy, a young football player, learns that sometimes bridging the distance in your family can be harder than stretching for an extra yard on the field in the second book of the Home Team series from New York Times bestselling author and sportswriting legend Mike Lupica.
Last spring Teddy's life changed for the better. He started working out, shaping up, and even earned a spot on the Walton baseball team, and with the team he went all the way to the Little League World Series. But the best things to come out of that season were his friendships with Jack, Cassie, and Gus, and the confidence to finally try out for the sport he really loves--football. So when eighth grade begins, Teddy couldn't be more psyched.
Until his mom drops a bomb: his father--who left them a long time ago--is back in Walton and back in their lives. And Teddy isn't happy about it. As a former star football player at the school, Teddy's dad is thrilled to find out his son is going out for the team, but Teddy begins to wonder if his father only cares about him now because he's putting on the helmet. Can Teddy find a way to go the extra yard for the team and for himself, or is the distance between him and his father too much to overcome?

Gutless by Carl Deuker - With both good speed and good hands, wide receiver Brock Ripley should be a natural for the varsity team, but he shies away from physical contact. When he gets cut from varsity, he also loses his friendship with star quarterback Hunter Gates who begins lashing out at not only Brock, but also Brock's friend, the quiet and smart Richie Fang. Brock wants to stand up for Fang, but he is younger, smaller, and doesn't want to cause problems. But when the bullying goes too far, will Brock be able to face his fears, stop being a bystander, and prove to himself that he is brave enough?

Leverage by Joshua Cohen - The football field is a battlefield
There's an extraordinary price for victory at Oregrove High. It is paid on-and off-the football field. And it claims its victims without mercy-including the most innocent bystanders.
When a violent, steroid-infused, ever-escalating prank war has devastating consequences, an unlikely friendship between a talented but emotionally damaged fullback and a promising gymnast might hold the key to a school's salvation.
Told in alternating voices and with unapologetic truth, Leverage illuminates the fierce loyalty, flawed justice, and hard-won optimism of two young athletes.

Pop by Gordon Korman - When Marcus moves to a new town in the dead of summer, he doesn't know a soul. While practicing football for impending tryouts, he strikes up a friendship with a man named Charlie, the best football player Marcus has ever seen. He can't believe his good luck when he finds out that Charlie is Charlie Popovich, or "the King of Pop," as he'd been nicknamed during his career as an NFL linebacker.
Charlie turns out to be a prankster, and his actions get Marcus in trouble. He's also the father of the quarterback at Marcus's new school--who leads the team in icing out the new kid.
The story of a good kid's struggle to land on his feet in a new town after his parents split up combines with compelling sports action and even some romance in Gordon Korman's Pop.

Stick by Michael Harmon - 'Stick' is the best wide receiver in the history of his high school. He puts on his football costume every week to make his teammates, his dad-- everyone but himself-- happy, but he's fallen out of love with the sport and feels that he's lost control of his future. Preston is an outcast, and his pipsqueak stature and nerdy social status couldn't be further from a star athlete's. He puts on his homemade superhero costume every night to help others, and regain control of the flawed world he sees around him. A twist of fate brings this unlikely pair together: each can see the other better than he can see himself, and in these unexpected reflections lies a chance for mutual redemption.

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach - I AM NOT STUPID FUNNY.  I AM STUPID FAST.
My name is Felton Reinstein, which is not a fast name. But last November, my voice finally dropped and I grew all this hair and then I got stupid fast. Fast like a donkey. Zing!
Now they want me, the guy they used to call Squirrel Nut, to try out for the football team. With the jocks. But will that fix my mom? Make my brother stop dressing like a pirate? Most important, will it get me girls-especially Aleah?
So I train. And I run. And I sneak off to Aleah's house in the night. But deep down I know I can't run forever. And I wonder what will happen when I finally have to stop.

Top Prospect by Paul Volponi - Travis Gardner lives to play quarterback. He's a standout QB by the middle school, and he's prepared to put everything he has into the game. Then Gainesville University's head coach makes Travis a promise: Travis will have a place on the team, and a scholarship to go with it. He just has to get through high school first.
As Travis starts ninth grade, he'll have to earn his teammates' trust and dodge opponents aiming to sack the star quarterback. But his biggest challenge might be staying focused in the face of sudden fame. Because now the pressure is on, and Travis has to prove himself with every pass.

Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines - To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he's battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.
Two years ago, Maggie Carleton's life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn't spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn't draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.
As West's pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father--so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won't tell anyone else.
West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn't control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own--or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn't ever let her go...