sarah henning – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Sarah Henning
Publisher: Poppy
Release Date: May 31st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A contemporary young adult romance about moving on, finding your place, and recovering after life falls apart.

Gymnast Caroline Kepler has three state balance beam titles, a new trick even most elites can’t do, and chronic, undeniable back pain. While she might never be an Olympian, she has dreams of leveling up to elite, making Nationals, and competing in college. But when one epic face-plant changes all that and Caroline’s back pain goes from chronic to career-ending, her dreams are shattered and her life is flipped upside down.

Enter Alex Zavala, a three-sport athlete who’s both incredibly cute and incredibly off-limits. He offers to give Caroline a crash course in all the sports she’s missed, and she has an offer for him in return: For every sport Alex teaches her, she’ll play matchmaker for him. Deal done, Caroline “dates” new sports with Alex for the rest of the summer, which is loads more fun than wallowing in despair. Just as Caroline starts to see herself as more than her past athletic successes, she picks up something she didn’t bargain for: a big fat crush on Alex. Turns out life was way easier when it was just layout-fulls and beam burns.

THIS WAS AMAZING.

This was a read for any young athlete who’s had to give up a sport sooner than they were prepared for (hi, it’s me). I felt those opening scenes with every fiber of m athletic soul and the rest of the book carried a beautiful story I couldn’t get enough of.

The romance was absolutely the SWEETEST YA friends to lovers. Oh my goodness it was too much to handle. I loved Caroline and Alex. When Alex offered to hep Caroline find a new sport/activity she could possibly enjoy and sincerely took the time to show her the ropes? SMITTEN doesn’t even begin to cover it. This is exactly the kind of love story I want to see in young adult lit.

What was my favorite aspect was the COMMUNICATION. Multiple times things came up in the plot where it could have gone two ways. One being a major miscommunication that would lead to hurt feelings and drama, and the other a conversation to alleviate all of those issues. Time and again Caroline truly thought through how she felt, how she thought others would feel and chose to have a conversation rather than let things fizzle in a bad way. I LOVED IT SO MUCH.

I could spend a long time gushing about this read. It’s appropriate for younger audiences and older alike. I think there’s so much here and it really sang to my heart and I hope you give it a chance too.

Overall audience notes:

YA Contemporary Romance
Language: a little strong
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: career ending injury, depression

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Sarah Henning
Publisher: Poppy
Release Date: July 20th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Friday Night Lights meets Morgan Matson’s The Unexpected Everything in this contemporary debut where swoonworthy romance meets underdog sports story.

When softball star Liv Rodinsky throws one ill-advised punch during the most important game of the year, she loses her scholarship to her fancy private school, her boyfriend, and her teammates all in one fell swoop. With no other options, Liv is forced to transfer to the nearest public school, Northland, where she’ll have to convince its coach she deserves a spot on the softball team, all while facing both her ex and the teammates of the girl she punched… Every. Single. Day.

Enter Grey, the injured star quarterback with amazing hair and a foolproof plan: if Liv joins the football team as his temporary replacement, he’ll make sure she gets a spot on the softball team in the spring. But it will take more than just a flawless spiral for Liv to find acceptance in Northland’s halls, and behind that charismatic smile, Grey may not be so perfect after all.

With lovable characters and a charming quarterback love interest, Throw Like a Girl will have readers swooning from the very first page.

SUPER CUTE SPORTS ROMANCE.

Okay, read this in a day (via audio, great narrator!!). Really enjoyed. Highly recommend.

I could probably leave it at that, but I’ll go in a little bit deeper.

I loved these characters. Everyone felt like they actually belonged in high school, but that it wasn’t rudely dramatic. Liv (and others) learned to apologize and accept mistakes and consequences. New friendships formed and the girl vs. girl hate was tamped down to appropriate levels. I just love that this team felt real, and Liv’s family felt real. Fantastic characters who really sold my love for this book.

The rooooomance was one you wanted to root for. Grey and Liv hit it off with a bit of banter and a whole lot of swoon. There was a natural flow to their story and the sweet kisses gave me all the heart eyes. I love the support Grey gave Liv and the trust they showed in each other. All around a wonderful YA love story.

You never know how a sport is going to come off in a book. For the football aspects, I thought this did a great job. I don’t remember glaring inaccuracies that took me out of the plot. And it never overshadowed either. Those final scenes with Liv on that field were those magical movie sports moments you love to see. I found myself cheering alongside everyone else.

Overall audience notes:

YA Contemporary Romance
Language: a little
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: recount of drunk driving accident (only involving the driver, no one else harmed), sports injuries (bruises, concussions, etc.), homophobic remarks, school expulsion, parent with cancer