Friday Night Lights: Football Fiction for Teens

Books about football for teen readers.
Updated September 19, 2022
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Friday night lights : a town, a team, and a dream
Bissinger, Buzz
Paper Book
Return once again to the enduring account of life in the Mojo lane, to the Permian Panthers of Odessa -- the winningest high school football team in Texas history. Odessa is not known to be a town big on dreams, but the Panthers help keep the hopes and dreams of this small, dusty town going....
Inexcusable
Lynch, Chris
Paper Book
I am a good guy. Keir Sarafian may not know much, but he knows himself. And the one thing he knows about himself is that he is a good guy. A guy who's a devoted son and brother, a loyal friend, and a reliable teammate. And maybe most important of all, a guy who understands that...
Fat Boy vs the cheerleaders
Herbach, Geoff.
Paper Book
From Geoff Herbach, the award-winning author of the hit young adult novels Stupid Fast and Nothing Special, comes a tale that will resonate with fat kids, nerds, dorks, gamers, geeks and teen outcasts of all kinds-an authentically funny story for anyone who has suffered from teasing and bullying at...
Dairy queen : a novel
Murdock, Catherine Gilbert.
Paper Book
When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. can’t help admitting, maybe he’s right. When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up...
Dare me : a novel
Abbott, Megan E.
Paper Book
From the award-winning author of The Turnout and Give Me Your Hand: the searing novel of friendship and betrayal that inspired the USA Network series, praised by Gillian Flynn as "Lord of the Flies set in a high-school cheerleading squad...Tense, dark, and...
Call me by my name
Bradley, John Ed.
Paper Book
"Heartbreaking." --Laurie Halse Anderson, acclaimed author of Speak "John Ed Bradley skillfully shines a beam of humanity through the prism of the game, revealing to us the full spectrum of its colors, from love to hate, bigotry to tolerance, and devotion to betrayal."...
Pop
Korman, Gordon.
Paper Book
Pop delivers suspense, humor, sports action, and a compelling look at the damage those "pop"s in football can cause Gordon Korman's books appeal to a wide range of kids and adults and can pull in even reluctant readers. Share Pop in your home or classroom; sports fans in particular won't...
No more dead dogs
Korman, Gordon.
Paper Book
For use in schools and libraries only. Truthful Wallace gives a thumbs-down to a book much to the chagrin of his English teacher, who sentences him to help with a stage version of the book. Wallace is unaware that his plot-improvement suggestions will wind up changing the entire production.
Stupid fast
Herbach, Geoff.
Paper Book
ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults * YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults * 2011 Cybils Award Winner, Young Adult Fiction * Junior Library Guild Selection * ABA Best Books A moving yet hilarious coming-of-age teen comedy about a reluctant athlete just trying to make it through high school,...
Leverage
Cohen, Joshua
Paper Book
A Top Ten Best Fiction Book for Young Adults as Selected by the American Library Association 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...
Payback time
Deuker, Carl.
Paper Book
Through the eyes of a distinctly non-athletic protagonist--a fat high school journalist named Mitch--veteran sports novelist Deuker reveals the surprising truth behind a mysterious football player named Angel.  When Angel shows up Lincoln High, he seems to have no past--or at least...
Gym candy
Deuker, Carl.
Paper Book
From award-winning novelist Carl Deuker comes a gritty, heart-wrenching story about high school football, self-acceptance, and the pressures that come with being the best at any cost. "Look, Mick," he said, "you're going to find out from somebody in the gym, so you might...
Jake, reinvented
Korman, Gordon.
CD
Jake, Reinvented
The league
Heldring, Thatcher.
Paper Book
The League "will keep sports fans reading" when all one boy wants is to play in a summer football league even though it's the roughest and most secretive rogue league in town (Kirkus Reviews). And don't miss Thatcher Heldring's newest novel, The Football Girl-...
The walk-on
Feinstein, John.
Paper Book
"Alex Myers is a triple-threat athlete great at football, basketball, and baseball. But he'll have to fight for a spot on the varsity team. Alex is a quarterback, but from the first day of football practice, it's clear that that position is very much filled by the coach's son, Matt. Alex has the...
The football girl
Heldring, Thatcher.
Paper Book
For every athlete or sports fanatic who knows she's just as good as the guys. This is for fans of The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Grace, Gold, and Glory by Gabrielle Douglass and Breakaway: Beyond the Goal by Alex Morgan.   The summer before...

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