By no stretch of the imagination, can I be considered a sports fan. However, I am getting pretty excited about the debut of the Winter Olympics. In fact, this evening I will be watching the opening ceremonies with my extended family drinking vodka and eating caviar and beef stroganoff. I haven’t read any of these books (yet), so take this list with a grain of salt, but here are five young adult books to get your excited about the winter sports that everyone will be talking about for the next few weeks.
1. Gold Medal Winter, by Donna Freitas: Figure skater Esperanza Flores must deal with the pressures of fame and resentment from her teammates for taking the place of an injured skater.
2. Blades of Glory, by John Rosengren: This nonfiction sports biography is billed as Friday Night Lights but with ice hockey instead of football.
3. Being Sloane Jacobs, by Lauren Morrill: A figure skater and an ice hockey player, both named Sloane Davis, meet in Montreal and decide to switch places for the summer.
4. Girl Overboard, by Justina Chen: After a billionaire’s teenage daughter is in a dangerous snow boarding accident, she is exiled from the mountain and sent to rehab where she tries to heal her broken knee and her broken heart (yes I know that sounds cheesy!).
5. The Ex Games, by Jennifer Echols: After a highly publicized break up, a teenage girl challenges her ex-boyfriend to a snowboarding contest.
Do any of these sound like something you would be interested in? Do you have any other books to add to my list? Let me know in the comments!
Alison Doherty 
Some of those have been on my list. I haven’t read any of them yet though. I can’t think of any other winter sports books other than Love on the Lifts by Rachel Hawthorne.
Just looked up Love on the Lifts and it looks super fun. Might had to add that to my to-read list.
I’m looking forward to the Swedish Ladies Curling Team, but that’s about it. On the other hand, I will probably watch will ferrel’s Blades of Glory this weekend now you’ve reminded me of it. Thanks!
I forgot about Blades of Glory. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that one.
What’s your connection to Swedish Ladies Curling? Or is it just a very specific interest?
No personal connection.
They are bar none the best players on the planet. They started out as 4 friends that were together playing for something like 30 years. They’ve won the last 2 Olympic titles.
They’d have beat the men if ever they were allowed to play them. I admired their dedication, skill, and the strength of their enduring friendship. They’re skip Annette Norberg retired, but I still look forward to seeing them play!
That is so cool! Thanks for telling me their story. Now I’m pumped to watch them compete. I wonder what a YA book about curling would look like.