Girls in Sports: Boost by Kathy Mackel and "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

 I recently read two really great books whose main characters were female athletes.  The first one, The Running Dream, is about a star track athlete who has to have her leg amputated after her school bus crashes on the way home from a track meet.  When the story opens it seems like Jessica will never be happy again because she will not be able to do what she loves, run.  However, through the support of her family and friends she begins to recover and realize that she may be able to run again.  Jessica's story is truly inspiring (I even cried a couple of times) and is a great read for track season!

The second book is Boost by Kathy Mackel and is one of the Iowa Teen Award Nominees for 2011-2012.  This story features Savvy who is 6 foot 2 inches tall, and a little uncomfortable being so tall, but very comfortable playing basketball.  She is only 13, but makes it onto a highly selective basketball team with girls who are much older.  However, somehow she gets accused of using steroids and has to figure out who planted the pills in her gym bag if she wants to clear her reputation.  This one has a surprise twist at the end and if you love basketball I think you will find this book to be a really exciting read!