Books like 'Box Out'
Readers who enjoyed Box Out by John Coy also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
action / adventure sports realistic high-school coming-of-age
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Jabari salta by Gaia Cornwall
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He's finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he's a great jumper, so he's not scared at all. "Looks easy," says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back...Categorized as:
coming-of-age realistic sports action-adventure black-mc book children children-books -
Lesson Learned by Earl Sewell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhoever said "family comes first" never met Keysha's mom, Justine. Fresh out of jail, Justine wants to reconnect with her daughter—despite abandoning her to a father she hardly knew. Keysha is sure Justine's troubled past is going to play havoc with her own present and future... -
Deep Zone by Tim Green
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the deep zone, even the very best player can find it impossible to beat a foe who’s hungry and waiting. . . .Troy White can predict a play before it happens. Star quarterback on his state football team, Troy’s a natural for the 7-on-7 tournament that’s being held at the Super Bowl in Miami. With any luck, his “football genius” will also be working for the Atlanta Falcons on that big day... -
All the Little Secrets: A Standalone Enemies-to-Lovers High School Romance by S.J. Sylvis
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEnglish Prep has always been known for housing the most uppity, privileged rich kids in all of Pike Valley. That is what has been driven into my brain since attending the opposing prep academy in the area since middle school. So, when I am hastily pulled out of Wellington Prep and thrown into English Prep my junior year, it feels like I am being thrown to the wolves...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic sports action-adventure audiobook book contemporary -
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Rivals by Tim Green
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCooperstown! Josh is thrilled when all his hard training pays off in a big way and his team, the Titans, makes it to a national tournament in Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. More is on the line for Josh than just a trophy. Winning would mean everything to his dad—now Josh's coach... -
A River Runs Through it and Other Stories by Norman Maclean, Annie Proulx
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsJust as Norman Maclean writes at the end of "A River Runs through It" that he is "haunted by waters," so have readers been haunted by his novella. A retired English professor who began writing fiction at the age of 70, Maclean produced what is now recognized as one of the classic American stories of the twentieth century...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic sports 20th-century action-adventure anthologies audiobook -
Heart of a Champion by Carl Deuker
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJimmy Winter is a born star on the baseball field, and Seth Barnam can only dream of being as talented. Still, the two baseball fanatics have the kind of friendship that should last forever. But when Seth experiences an unthinkable loss, he's forced to find his own personal strength--on and off the field...Categorized as:
high-school realistic sports 20th-century action-adventure book children-books contemporary -
They Shoot Canoes, Don't They? by Patrick F. McManus
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMcManus celebrates the hidden pleasures, unappreciated lore, and opportunities for disaster to be found in such outdoor recreations as camping, hunting, and fishing... -
Baseball Great by Tim Green
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author and former NFL player Tim Green comes a baseball book pulsing with action. Baseball Great offers a baseball story attuned to today’s headlines, a totally involving, character-driven, sports-centered thriller. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica. As a young reviewer on Brightly... -
Broken Heir by Amber Vant
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsMy once perfectly orchestrated kingdom is crumbling and it’s all because of her. Rory may have disappeared, but like a flame, light will always shine brighter in darkness.She grew up believing she only ever had herself, and maybe at one time that was true, but not anymore. She’s one of us now. I may be on the outs with the hellhounds but that doesn’t mean she’s allowed the same generosity...Categorized as:
high-school sports coming-of-age new-adult dark contemporary enemies-to-lovers cruel-mc -
The Sixth Man by John Feinstein
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPerfect for sports-loving kids and fans of books by Mike Lupica, book two in the Triple Threat series by "New York Times" bestselling author John Feinstein delivers a hard-hitting account of prejudice and perseverance on the basketball court. It s basketball season. And for once, triple threat Alex Myers is not the one in the spotlight... -
Saving Wishes by G.J. Walker-Smith
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFor Charli Blake, being seventeen is a tough gig.She's been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she's stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania. Thankfully, it's temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality... -
Initiation by Phil M. Williams
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne Team, One Goal, Back-to-Back State Champions. Carter Lynch didn’t care about the slogan, the prestige, or the tradition. He was an outsider, a foreign invader from a foreign land. The army brat transfer didn’t join the football team to make friends. He didn’t care about anything but taking a starting spot and earning a scholarship. He had what it took to be a star... -
Happy Dreamer by Peter H. Reynolds
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA celebration of the colorful spectrum of what it means to dream and the many ways to find happy!While the world tells us to sit still, to follow the rules, and to color inside the lines, Happy Dreamer celebrates all those moments in between when the mind and spirit soar and we are free to become our own true dreamer...Categorized as:
coming-of-age realistic action-adventure book children children-books fiction mental-illness -
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Summer Ball by Mike Lupica
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Travel Team! When you’re the smallest kid playing a big man’s game, the challenges never stop—especially when your name is Danny Walker. Leading your travel team to the national championship may seem like a dream come true, but for Danny, being at the top just means the competition tries that much harder to knock him off... -
The Art of Holding On and Letting Go by Kristin Bartley Lenz
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Junior Library Guild Fall 2016 Selection“When every piece falls into place, it’s like a dance, a delicate but powerful balancing act. The art of holding on and letting go at the same time.” Competitive climber Cara Jenkins feels most at home high off the ground, clinging to a rock wall by her fingertips... -
I'm With Stupid by Geoff Herbach, Nick Podehl
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“Deep, moving, LOL funny, and completely original.” – School Library Journal on Nothing SpecialFelton Reinstein has never been good with stress. Which is why he's seriously freaking out. Revealing his college choice on national TV? It's a heart attack waiting to happen. Deciding on a major for the next four years of his life? Ridiculous. He barely even knows who he is outside of football. And so. -
Road Trip with the Enemy by Kelsie Stelting
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsI made two promises after my brother died: to run a charity marathon in his place and to avoid Jeremiah Dermot at all costs. So when my car’s broken down on the side of the road while my parents are at a retreat to save their crumbling marriage, of course Jeremiah’s the one who pulls up and offers to give me a ride...Categorized as:
high-school coming-of-age sports romance young-adult contemporary journey enemies-to-lovers -
Dead Girls Never Talk by S.J. Sylvis
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAMAZON Top 50 Bestselling Author, SJ Sylvis, brings an addictive interconnected standalone boarding school romance set in a deliciously dark world packed with angst and off-the-charts chemistry.CadeLoving her was like breathing air—it was hard to live without.Journey Smith was quiet and guarded, and above all else…beautiful. When we were alone, I grew to know the girl behind the stormy eyes...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school sports action-adventure adult boarding-school book contemporary -
If I Never Get Back by Darryl Brock
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTime travel meets baseball in this "grand adventure" about a modern-day reporter who witnesses the birth of America's favorite pastime (The Washington Times)Contemporary reporter Sam Fowler is stuck in a dull job and a failing marriage when he is suddenly transported back to the summer of 1869...Categorized as:
coming-of-age sports action-adventure adult book fiction historical historical-fiction -
Collateral Damage by Katie Klein
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTrue love can blossom in unexpected places. This is Parker pretending not to care. . . . Parker Whalen and Jaden McEntyre are a wrong fit from the start. Jaden is driven and focused, Harvard Med School within reach. Parker has a past—a reputation—and the rumors about his mysterious habits abound...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic action-adventure book contemporary drama fiction -
Fate by Elizabeth Reyes
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Rose tagged along with her big sister to a baby shower the last thing she expected was to meet a guy. But this wasn’t just any guy. This was the exciting, sexy as sin, way out of her league black sheep of his family--Vincent Moreno. Even more surprising, this heart-stopping bad boy seemed interested in her.Fate always had a way of interfering in Vince’s best-laid plans... -
Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Sam's best friend gets her first boyfriend, she's not ready to spend the summer listening to the two of them call each other "pookie." Sick of being a third wheel, Sam applies to be a counselor-in-training at Whispering Pines camp in the New York Catskills. But what she doesn't realize is that it's not going to be all Kumbaya sing-alongs and gooey s'mores... -
Faceless by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Maisie Winters wakes up, she’s in the hospital.The last thing she remembers is running through the hills of her neighborhood one misty morning. Slowly, she puts the pieces together. Before she could make it home, a storm gathered. Lightning hit a power line and sparks rained down, the hot-burning electrical fire consuming her. Destroying her face...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic sports action-adventure audiobook book contemporary -
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Blind Your Ponies by Stanley Gordon West
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWillow Creek, Montana. With bold strokes on a large canvas, Stanley West has drawn an entire village of curious and outlandish characters who have been cast so vividly that one can see them, hear them, laugh with them, feel with them - people as real as relatives... -
Break the Rules by Joanna Philbin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe only daughter of supermodel Katia Summers, witty and thoughtful Lizzie Summers likes to stick to the sidelines. The sole heir to Metronome Media and daughter of billionaire Karl Jurgensen, outspoken Carina Jurgensen would rather climb mountains than social ladders. Daughter of chart-topping pop icon Holla Jones, stylish and sensitive Hudson Jones is on the brink of her own music breakthrough...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic action-adventure book contemporary family female-mc -
From the Wreckage by Michele G. Miller
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratings“In a matter of minutes on a Friday night, I lost my school, my identity, the security of my first love, the personality of my sweet fearless brother, my best friend, my town, everything as I knew it. Everything changed.” "Minutes - that’s all it takes to change your entire life. How do you deal with that?” For high school senior Jules Blacklin surviving the storm is only the beginning... -
Nobody's Girl by Sarra Manning
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBea thinks she's the most boring seventeen-year-old in the world. She's not pretty or popular or funny, unlike her mother who had Bea when she was 17. The only glamorous thing about Bea is the French father who left before she was born and lives in Paris. She yearns for la vie Parisienne every moment of her dull existence...Categorized as:
coming-of-age realistic action-adventure book contemporary fiction womens-fiction young-adult -
Chasing Forever Down by Nikki Chartier
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen seventeen-year-old Haley Sullivan is dragged to a corporate party with her parents, she's searching for one thing - the nearest exit. Instead, she finds a mysterious stranger who plays by his own rules and chases his own dreams, and he's definitely cute enough to disappear with for the night...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic sports action-adventure book california contemporary -
Painting the Black by Carl Deuker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen a hard ball is coming at you fast, and when it's dancing, too, every single nerve in your body is alert and ready. Your eyes are wide open, and the adrenaline is pumping. It's not a feeling you want to give up, any more than you want to get off a roller coaster...Categorized as:
high-school realistic sports action-adventure book children-books contemporary family -
Only One Boy by Maggie Dallen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThere's only one boy Celia would NOT want to be stuck sitting next to on this interminably long train ride. So guess who just walked on board…Clearly the universe has a sick sense of humor. That's the only explanation Celia can come up with when she finds herself alone on a train with her crush since second grade. Maybe some girls would call this fate. Destiny, even. But Celia knows better... -
Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly by Conrad Wesselhoeft
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWinner of the "Reading the West" award for young-adult fiction. Seventeen year-old dirt-bike daredevil Arlo Santiago catches the eye of the U.S. military with his first-place ranking on a video game featuring drone warfare, and must reconcile the work they want him to do with the emotional scars he has suffered following a violent death in his family... -
Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAnise Sawyer plans to spend every minute of summer with her friends: surfing, chowing down on fish tacos drizzled with wasabi balsamic vinegar, and throwing bonfires that blaze until dawn...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic sports action-adventure audiobook book contemporary -
Jesse's Girl (Hundred Oaks) by Miranda Kenneally
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEveryone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol.But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic sports action-adventure book celebrity contemporary -
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Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJason Carrillo came out to his basketball team senior year and lost his university scholarship. Now, with graduation behind him and summer ending, he's asked to speak at the opening of a gay and lesbian high school across the country...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic sports action-adventure audiobook book contemporary -
Pop by Gordon Korman
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPop delivers suspense, humor, sports action, and a compelling look at the damage those "pop"s in football can causeGordon Korman's books appeal to a wide range of kids and adults and can pull in even reluctant readers. Share Pop in your home or classroom; sports fans in particular won't be able to put it down.When Marcus moves to a new town in the dead of summer, he doesn't know a soul... -
Up to This Pointe by Jennifer Longo
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHand this utterly unique contemporary YA to anyone who loves ballet or is a little too wrapped up in their Plan A. (It's okay to fail, people!) Harper had a plan. It went south. Harper Scott is a dancer. She and her best friend, Kate, have one goal: becoming professional ballerinas... -
One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMost teens dream of visiting the City of Lights, but it feels more like a nightmare for Sophie Brooks. She and her brother are sent to Paris to spend the summer with their father, who left home a year ago without any explanation. As if his sudden abandonment weren't betrayal enough, he's about to remarry, and they’re expected to play nice with his soon-to-be wife and stepdaughter...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic action-adventure audiobook book contemporary family -
When I Was Joe by Keren David
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Ty witnesses a stabbing, his own life is in danger from the criminals he's named, and he and his mum have to go into police protection. Ty has a new name, a new look and a cool new image - life as Joe is good, especially when he gets talent spotted as a potential athletics star, special training from an attractive local celebrity and a lot of female attention...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic 21st-century action-adventure book children contemporary -
Game by Walter Dean Myers
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThis thrilling basketball story from New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers is a strong choice for independent reading and sharing in the classroom. Thought-provoking and packed with court action, Game is a winner.Drew Lawson knows basketball is taking him places. It has to, because his grades certainly aren't. But lately his plan has run squarely into a pick...Categorized as:
sports realistic high-school coming-of-age young-adult fiction middle-grade friendship -
Night of the Spadefoot Toads by Bill Harley
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA classroom favorite!An inspiring story of intergenerational friendship, activism, and how our actions can drastically impact our environment. "Harley's appealing story shows readers that adults and children can connect in meaningful friendships, and reminds them that conservation can begin in their own backyards...Categorized as:
coming-of-age realistic action-adventure book children-books fiction middle-grade outdoors -
Over & Out by Melissa J. Morgan
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsJenna Bloom swore she’d behave herself this summer. She knows that one more practical joke and even her friends won’t be so friendly anymore... -
Jules, the Bounty Hunter by Katie Ashley
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHigh-speed car chases, hiding out in overgrown bushes, nabbing the bad guy—all in a days work for Julianne aka Jules St. James. Sure growing up with a bounty hunter for a father was a little unorthodox, but she wouldn’t have it any other way... -
Beverly Hills Maasai by Eric Walters
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn his sequel to Alexandria of Africa , Eric Walters brings exciting new characters to life, with the urban jungle of Los Angeles as their backdrop.It's the ultimate clash of cultures when Nebala, a Maasai warrior, leaves behind Kenya and, with two fellow Maasai, and crosses the world to compete in a marathon in the most famous zip code in the Beverly Hills, California... -
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Slam! by Walter Dean Myers
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn exciting, eye-catching repackage of acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers' bestselling paperbacks, to coincide with the publication of SUNRISE OVER FALLUJA in hardcover.Seventeen-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris can do it all on the basketball court. He's seen ballplayers come and go, and he knows he could be one of the lucky ones. Maybe he'll make it to the top. Or maybe he'll stumble along the way...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic sports action-adventure black-mc book children-books -
The Infinite Pieces of Us by Rebekah Crane
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the author of The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland comes a hilarious and heartbreaking novel about coming apart, getting it together--and moving on. It's just a two-hour drive--Pondering math problems is Esther Ainsworth's obsession. If only life's puzzles required logic. Her stepfather's solution? Avoidance...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic action-adventure audiobook book contemporary family -
Swim the Fly by Don Calame
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThree adolescent boys with a single goal: see a reallive naked girl. The result? Razor-sharp, rapid-fi re, and raunchy, of course. And beyond hilarious. Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal... -
The Beautiful Lost by Luanne Rice, Hallie Clarke
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice, a sweeping story of a girl and boy, both troubled in different ways, who take off on a whirlwind road trip up the East Coast. Here are three things to know about Maia:1. Ever since her mother left, Maia's struggled with depression -- which once got so bad, she had to go to an institution for a while. She doesn't want to go back.2...Categorized as:
coming-of-age high-school realistic action-adventure audiobook book contemporary family -
In a Perfect World by Trish Doller
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom critically acclaimed author Trish Doller comes a “tender story that’s both realistic and hopeful” (Publishers Weekly), set in Cairo, Egypt, about the barriers we tear down for the people and places we love most... -
Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSet sail with this banter-filled rivals-to-lovers romance between a STEM-loving girl and a jock guy that will fill you with wanderlust...and have you rooting for love in the great outdoors!Love is on the horizon...After a very public breakup where her ex, Caleb, told her she is both, a.) boring, and b...
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