Like Other Girls
by Britta Lundin
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Description
""What if I played football?" I ask. As soon as it's out of my mouth, I feel stupid. Even suggesting it feels like I've overstepped some kind of invisible line we've all agreed not to discuss. We don't talk about how Mara is different from other girls. We don't talk about how Mara is gay but no one says so. But when I do stuff like this, I worry it gets harder for us all to ignore what's right in front of us. I direct my gaze to Quinn. "What do you think?" "I think it's frickin' genius," he show more says. After getting kicked off the basketball team for a fight that was absolutely totally not her fault (okay maybe a little her fault), Mara is dying to find a new sport to play to prove to her coach that she can be a team player. A lifelong football fan, Mara decides to hit the gridiron with her brother, Noah, and best friend, Quinn-and she turns out to be a natural. But joining the team sets off a chain of events in her small Oregon town-and within her family-that she never could have predicted. Inspired by what they see as Mara's political statement, four other girls join the team. Now Mara's lumped in as one of the girls-one of the girls who can't throw, can't kick, and doesn't know a fullback from a linebacker. Complicating matters is the fact that Valentina, Mara's crush, is one of the new players, as is Carly, Mara's nemesis-the girl Mara fought with when she was kicked off the basketball team. What results is a coming-of-age story that is at once tear-jerking and funny, thought-provoking and real, as Mara's preconceived notions about gender, sports, sexuality, and friendship are turned upside down." -- jacket flap show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Caramellunacy Both stories about farm girls in rural towns deciding to play football with the boys.
Member Reviews
A delight to read, solid all the way through. This is not only a great story about a girl coming up with an innovative way of dealing with her suspension for hitting a basketball teammate, it's about a closeted girl coming to grips with herself as well as learning to navigate the scary waters of a small town and becoming the person she needs to be. It's a worthwhile book for any public or school library to have on their shelves.
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5,547 works; 145 members
Author Information
2+ Works 364 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Mara Bree Deeble; Jupiter; Quinn Kegley; Noah Deeble; Carly Nakata; Valentina Cortez (show all 10); Maria Carpenter; Wayne Warren; Tayley Striker; River Reyes
- Important places
- Elkhorn, Oregon, USA
- Dedication
- For those for whom even stepping foot on the field takes courage
- First words
- When my eyes open again, it's to the sight of my teammates' worried faces looking down at me.
- Blurbers
- Winters, Julian; Poston, Ashley; Lee, Mackenzi; Romanoff, Zan
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, LGBTQ+, Teen, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 813.6 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 2000-
- LCC
- PZ7.1 .L849 .L — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 95
- Popularity
- 337,248
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.25)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 1
