In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle

by Madeleine Blais

First published 2017

The Amherst Lady Hurricanes have talent and an almost perfect record, but they choke in the playoffs every single year. For five straight seasons, when the stakes get high, something goes wrong. This year feels different. Senior guards Jen Pariseau and Jamila Wideman lead a team determined to break the pattern. Pariseau specializes in three-point shots while Wideman brings All-American skills to the court. As summer basketball camps end and fall arrives, the Western Massachusetts college town rallies around their girls' team. The community finally gives a women's team the attention it deserves. These teenage players are fierce competitors, smart students, and loyal teammates. Through practices and games, victories and setbacks, they face the ultimate test of their passion for basketball and commitment to each other. The season will reveal who they truly are when everything is on the line.

Genres: fiction, contemporary, sports, young-adult

Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking

Tropes: found-family, sports-team

Setting: Amherst, Western Massachusetts

Period: 20th-century

283 pages · Kindle Edition · Grove Press

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