  | Book Details Title: Throw Like a Girl |
Book DescriptionReview Praise for Throw Like a Girl:“Liv’s major obstacle is learning to forgive and trust again: the family who doesn’t respect her decisions; the teammates who keep secrets; the boyfriend with an agenda; and above all, her own flawed, complicated, driven, triumphant self. This charming sports story reflects classic tropes of the genre while still feeling fresh and relevant. A winner.”―Kirkus Reviews “Henning offers a fun romance twined with a fast-paced sports story, and a headstrong protagonist who is easy to champion. Liv’s relationship with Grey is the perfect mix of heat and heart, and her acceptance by the all-male football team, refreshingly easy… [A] feel-good underdog story about a girl who refuses to quit.”― Publishers Weekly“Determination and grit mixed perfectly with sass and humor on every turn of the page. With mistakes come lessons, and this story tells it in a way that everyone can relate to.”―Abbi Glines, #1 New York Times bestselling author“[Sarah] Henning offers up a scrappy contemporary debut in the vein of Morgan Matson. Sports fans and romance lovers unite–there’s plenty to satisfy both teams here.”―Booklist Read more About the Author Sarah Henning is a recovering sports journalist who has worked for The Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star and Associated Press, among others. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids, and hangs out with her husband Justin. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, hometown of Langston Hughes, William S. Burroughs, and a really good basketball team. She is the author of Sea Witch and Throw Like a Girl, and invites you to visit her online at sarahhenningwrites.com. Read more Customers Review: I’ve been anticipating Throw Like A Girl ever since I read Sea Witch back in August of 2018 and I knew this was going to be one book I was going to like once I read the premise, even though contemporary isn’t my first choice in fiction. While it’s not the most original plot of a girl joining a boys football team, I had a feeling I would enjoy it. With the combination of great characters, realism and sports references, I read through this in three days. As a side note, I’m so glad I avoided reading much about this (and intentionally dodged reviews) between when the preview chapter dropped days before Super Bowl 53 and when I finally got to read it days after Super Bowl 54 (one year).In short, Olive is a softball player and after getting into a fight with an opposing player, she’s forced out of her private school and has to go to the school of the player that she fought, where she might not get to play. In order to prove her teamwork skills, she tries out a fall sport, but luck has it, the position of quarterback is open.Olive is a hard working softball star, who’s a bit stubborn and sometimes is rash to act (thus the trouble she’s in), but wants to get her life back on track so she can have a future that isn’t working for minimum wage, a common fear in a lot of young athletes in families strapped for cash. She does grow as the story continues, learning some valuable life lessons along the way, and it didn’t sound like it was a lecture. I felt her ups and downs as we went through this journey with her. I love the sisterhood that she has with Danielle as well as the friendship with Addie, her former teammate, and how she tries to balance out her responsibilities to friends and family in order to get on the Northland softball team. I love her family, and it’s clear that while it doesn’t get much focus, they are caring for her, with their own quirks. As for Grey, he’s well developed, and I liked how he was developed, as well as how Grey and Liv’s relationship developed as the story went on, and while some might say it was too fast, consider that they were spending all day with each other. While we don’t get to know all of the football players (there’s way too many to keep up), we get to know a few of the important players and they feel like they are their own person as well as part of a team. I really love the coaches that Liv interacts with as well.The plot has a nice pace, and didn’t feel slow, though I sorta wished the timeline was spread out a bit more. It feels like a deconstruction of those “girl plays QB stories” in a lot of fiction (and Liv is self aware of that), as it really digs into Liv’s feeling of being out of place as a girl in a boy’s sport, and the fact that she has to work harder than everyone else to keep up in the long and grueling practice sessions, and the story doesn’t shy away from the inherent violence that football brings. As a big sports fan, I geeked out at the many sports references throughout the book (I finally understand why many geek out on book references), and there’s a subtle Sea Witch reference later in the book. Outside of one issue that comes up about 1/3rd of the way through the book, it felt like an authentic representation of high school football and sports, having second hand experience in this. Sarah Henning did her homework in how football works in real life, but I can’t compare this to the Friday Night Lights TV series as I’ve never watched it (but I have read the book). Most of the plot revolves around sports, so if that isn’t your thing, you might not enjoy this one.For the most part, the prose is easy to read and vivid, which is why I got through it so fast. However, there were parts where the prose tried too hard to be poetic and drifted into purple prose. The first chapter was the biggest example of this, and I can see why this might sour some readers, with details feeling unclear, plus, it doesn’t really get a glimpse of what the writing style will be for most of the rest of the book, which is more casual. It shows up during the football sequences to an extent, but I thought outside of one or two, they were clean and easy to understand.I will be recommending this to YA readers that love reading about sports, and looking forward to more books like this and from Henning from the future!
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28 reviews