Crushing It

Two eighth grade soccer players manage messy families, fractured friendship, and confusing feelings in Becker’s charming debut, a delight for fans of realistic, emotionally deep novels. Mel Miller, captain of her Iowa school soccer team, is keen to avenge last year’s loss in the city championships. When she isn’t thinking about soccer, she’s struggling to figure out who she is. She has been secretly writing poems that she shares with an anonymous fellow student on the school’s online message boards, not realizing it’s her teammate and former best friend Tory McNally. Meanwhile, brusque, hyper-organized Tory is navigating a strained relationship with her mother and agonizes about her rift with Mel, which was sparked by Tory’s attempts to misdirect a bully who noticed Tory’s crush on her. As the team rockets its way to the championship and as she and Tory grow closer via the message board, Mel tries to minimize growing tensions on the team and begins questioning harsh treatment from a friend. Becker lines up relatable problems and believably conflicted choices alongside a tender, slow-building romance and intense soccer matches. Mel and Tory read as white. Ages 10–up. Agent: Ann Rose, Tobias Literary Agency. (Aug.)