There are many wonderful fitness and sports-themed titles for teens that perfectly complement this year's summer reading theme of Get in the Game: Read. This list includes some of my favorites.
Ann Galardi's mother is always nagging her to lose weight, but it isn't until she learns she will be attending her aunt's wedding that she decides to make a change for herself.
Bo Brewster, whose anger toward his father threatens to consume him, finds a way to handle his emotions through anger management classes and training for a triathlon. (Chris Crutcher has many other sports-themed books for teens.)
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
When Auden, who can't sleep, meets fellow insomniac Eli, she begins to enjoy fun things she missed out on during her troubled childhood, including riding a bicycle.
When fifteen-year-old Felton Reinstein undergoes a huge growth spurt, he suddenly develops speed and strength overnight, landing him a spot on the football team. (Stupid Fast is the first book in a trilogy. The other two titles are Nothing Special and I'm With Stupid.)
Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge
Fourteen-year-old baseball player Kevin Boland is stuck in bed with mono when he begins writing poetry about baseball - and other important things in his life - in his journal. (There is a sequel to this book entitled Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs.)
One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte
Fourteen-year-old Bobby Marks spends his summer learning to stand up for himself and slowly becoming physically fit. (There are two sequels to One Fat Summer: Summer Rules and The Summerboy.)
Brian is thrilled when he gets a job as a batboy for his local major league team just when his hero, Hank Bishop returns to play, but he quickly becomes disillusioned when he learns that Bishop is not all that he seems.
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Tomboy DJ Schwenk loves football, but since her father won't allow her to try out for the team, she has to settle for training the new quarterback. (Dairy Queen is followed by three sequels: The Off Season, Front and Center, and Heaven is Paved with Oreos.)
Slam! by Walter Dean Myers
Greg "Slam" Harris, who loves basketball, struggles to overcome the academic and family hardships that threaten his place at his new magnet school.
Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks
The friendship between science nerd Nate and basketball player Charlie is put to the test when the science club and the cheerleading squad get into a fight over club funding. (This book is a graphic novel.)
On the Road to Find Out by Rachel Toor
When high school senior Alice Davis is rejected from her first-choice college, she takes up running and slowly learns how to handle failure and defeat.