Happy March Madness season! It’s just a few weeks until the NCAA tournament begins, so in the spirit of basketball, I decided to review a book about it.
A Sharp Endless Need (out May 13th) by Marisa Crane is a love letter to basketball and everything that comes along with it—including falling for a teammate. I read it in one sitting, with only an eight-hour break in the middle because I fell asleep (not the book’s fault! I was just exhausted), and picked it up again as soon as I woke up in the morning.
Set in rural Pennsylvania 2004, it follows Mack, a high school senior and star point guard for her team, after her father dies and a new girl, Liv, transfers to her school. The two immediately bond over their love for basketball, and things get homoerotic fast. I for one am a huge fan of sports and gay people, as well as the intersection of the two, so I ate this up. Their relationship is full of ups and downs, a lot of drugs and alcohol, and of course, hoops. Ball is life for Mack and Liv, and their relationship is intense on and off the court in many different ways, especially as Mack tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life after high school as college deadlines approach.
I enjoyed the read, and it falls into a category of books that I call more vibes than plot because it’s a very character-focused book, and the vibes were the part that stood out the most to me. If you’re a fan of basketball and are looking to read about some sporty gays, give this one a shot! A Sharp Endless Need comes out on May 13th. (Just in time for the WNBA season to start a few days later!)
Content warnings: sexual assault, homophobia, underage drinking and drugs
And as a bonus, here are a few other sapphic sports books I want to shout out!
Bunt! by Ngozi Ukazu: I love baseball. I played it growing up, and this is a story about a bunch of artsy university students banding together to exploit a scholarship rule loophole by trying to win just one singular softball game as a team. The art in this graphic novel was probably my favourite part, especially all of the character designs. It all just popped so much and I loved it!
She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen: If you’re looking for a lighter, rom-commier basketball book, this is for you. It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I remember liking it a lot! I’m a sucker for rivals-to-lovers as a trope, and I thought it was very well done in this book.
It’s a Love/Skate Relationship by Carli J. Corson: So I actually haven’t read this one yet, but I’m desperately waiting for my library hold to come in so I can read about the skating gays. I’m a bad Canadian in that me and ice skates don’t get along, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying both hockey and figure skating, so I can’t wait to read this hockey player/figure skater romance.
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