10 Thrilling Sports Books for Middle Grade Readers

In this heartwarming graphic novel, young heroine Bree is starting middle school and is dismayed to find that the only sport she can take is swimming. With the help of Etta, an older woman living in her building, Bree overcomes her fear of the water and learns to love swimming. But the stakes are raised when it becomes clear that Bree is the only person who can turn her school’s sporting fortunes around.

Stories about friendship breakups (or near-breakups) can be very important for middle grade readers, and Keeping Pace gives us a poignant story about a difficult friendship against the backdrop of distance running. Grace and Jonah used to be friends, but they are now constantly trying to outdo each other. So when Jonah beats Grace’s GPA, Grace is determined to beat him at a half-marathon. As the two train for their race, they start to re-evaluate what’s really important to them both.

Synchronised swimming is a fascinating sport, and Barely Floating takes a deep and nuanced look through the eyes of Nat, a young girl who used to swim races until she saw a synchronised swimming display and fell in love. Nat is desperate to start synchronised swimming herself, but her parents are wary, pointing out that the sport centres thin, white swimmers. However, Nat is determined to prove that a plus-sized Brown girl can also compete.

If you have any young readers in your life who were inspired by the Women’s World Cup, they’ll love Select. This book follows the story of Alex, whose soccer skills get her into a high-level junior soccer club. At first, she loves playing with the other girls, but when their coach begins pushing the team too hard, the squad realises that they need to push back. Select is a story about finding what you love, and learning to stand up for yourself – even against adults.

Many sports have a history of racism and segregation, and baseball is no exception. Set in 1935, 12-year-old Cato is part of a Black baseball team threatened by the white residents of the town after the boys use the “whites-only” baseball field. As tensions climb higher, Cato and his friends decide that the only way they can stop any potential future violence is to challenge the white team to a baseball game.

The fourth book in Yang’s Front Desk series, Key Player sees Mia throw herself into the world of women’s soccer. Trying to boost up her PE grade, Mia is delighted to find out that the Women’s World Cup will be played in her home state of California. She plans to interview the players to try and get extra credit for her class, all while dealing with her family moving house and other challenges.

Set in the world of softball, Fast Pitch follows Shenice, who captains her under-12 team, the Fulton Firebirds. The Firebirds are the league’s only all-girls of colour team, which means they face multiple microaggressions on and off the field. Shenice has to gather all her strength to lead her team to victory.

This graphic novel tells the tale of a real historical struggle for gender equity in the world of basketball. Set in 1975, Hoops follows the Wilkins Regional High School girls’ basketball team, who have won every game, but don’t get any of the credit or resources that are given to the boys’ team. The team pulls together to succeed despite the lack of help, doing everything from making their own basketball uniforms and fundraising to get to the finals.

Many middle grade stories focus on girls’ friendships, but boys have friendship dramas too. Sink or Swim explores this through the story of Ty, who has been benched by his swim team for a while following a broken arm. When he’s cleared to swim again, Ty realises he’s struggling to reconnect with his friends. He is also afraid that he’s lost some of his swimming ability while he’s been on rest. This graphic novel is a sweet and thoughtful tale about regaining confidence.

In this autobiographical comic, Christina and her best friend Megan are excited to try out for the cheerleading squad at their middle school. As two of the only girls of colour in their small town, they have been close all their lives, but being part of the cheerleading squad means they’ll be pushed further than they ever have before. The pressure will put their friendship to the test.