Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Though legally blind, Paul Fisher can see what others cannot. He can see that his parents' constant praise of his brother, Erik, the football star, is to cover up something that is terribly wrong. But no one listens to Paul--until his family moves to Tangerine. In this Florida town, weird is normal: Lightning strikes at the same time every day, a sinkhole swallows a local school, and Paul the geek finds himself... (more)

Fever Pitch

by Nick Hornby

This is a chronicle of Nick Hornby's obsession with British football, and his extraordinary devotion to one team, Arsenal.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Book 1

The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants

by Ann Brashares

Carmen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn’t look all that great; they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. But Tibby says they’re great. She’d love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think they’re fabulous. Lena decides they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them. Nobody knows why, but... (more)

How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

by Franklin Foer

Soccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. It is a perfect window into the cross–currents of today's world, with all its joys and its sorrows. In this remarkably insightful, wide–ranging work of reportage, Franklin Foer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shining a spotlight on the clash of civilizations, the international economy, and just about everything in between. How... (more)

Kickoff

by Donna King

Tyra Fraser hates her life. A family move from sunny Florida to an army base in the cold north of England leaves her lonely and angry. Outgoing Tyra hopes to fit in by playing soccer for the school team, but the girls' team is terrible, and the coach is too focused on the boys' team to do anything about it. Tyra wants to turn things around, but before she can do that, she has to get her teammates to take her... (more)

Outcasts United: A Story of Hope, Conflict, and Transformation on the Playing Fields of a Small American Town

Outcasts United: A Story of Hope, Conflict, and Transformation on the Playing Fields of a Small American Town

by Warren St. John

The extraordinary tale of a refugee youth soccer team and the transformation of a small American town Clarkston, Georgia, was a typical Southern town until it was designated a refugee settlement center in the 1990s, becoming the first American home for scores of families in flight from the world’s war zones—from Liberia and Sudan to Iraq and Afghanistan. Suddenly Clarkston’s streets were filled with women wearing... (more)

Keeper

by Mal Peet

"This stirring adventure — a soccer story? a ghost story? — defies expectations. . . . Both lyrical and gripping." — KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review) When Paul Faustino of LA NACION flips on his tape recorder for an exclusive interview with El Gato — the phenomenal goalkeeper who single-handedly brought his team the World Cup — the seasoned reporter quickly learns that this will be no ordinary story. Instead,... (more)

Playing With the Boys

by Liz Tigelaar

New girl Lucy is desperate for friends. She tries out for Beachwood High soccer, but despite her amazingly accurate kick, fails to make the team. When the Coach points out that varsity football is looking for a new kicker, Lucy is skeptical. Football? Isn’t that a boys’ game? But on the gridiron Lucy discovers that she feels strong—in control for the first time since her mother died. She loves football. She... (more)

PrettyTOUGH

by Liz Tigelaar

Bubbly, blond Krista brown is pretty and popular. Her sister, Charlie, is more interested in braving the Malibu waves than the halls of the school that Krista rules. But when Krista and Charlie are both recruited to the school's soccer team, they are forced to face their differences. Can these two sisters become teammates, and friends, in time to make it to the championships? Classic themes of sisterhood... (more)

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

by Kate Brian

Boys. 7 of them, to be exact. Megan is used to moving from place to place -- it's typical for an army brat. But she drew the line at South Korea. She insists on staying in the States to finish her last two years of high school. So her parents made arrangements for Megan to live with their friends, the McGowans...and the McGowans' 7 sons. Turns out, living with 7 boys might as well be a foreign country! The boys... (more)

The Miracle of Castel di Sangro: A Tale of Passion and Folly in the Heart of Italy

The Miracle of Castel di Sangro: A Tale of Passion and Folly in the Heart of Italy

by Joe McGiniss

Master storyteller Joe McGinniss travels to Italy to cover the unlikely success of a ragtag minor league soccer team--and delivers a brilliant and utterly unforgettable story of life in an off-the-beaten-track Italian village. When Joe McGinniss sets out for the remote Italian village of Castel di Sangro one summer, he merely intends to spend a season with the village's soccer team, which only weeks before had,... (more)

The Million Dollar Kick

by Dan Gutman

Whisper Nelson’s mental videotape remembers everything—including scoring a point for the opposing team in her last soccer match four years ago (yikes!). So when she wins a chance to kick a goal past a professional soccer goalie for a million dollars, she’s torn. Should she risk further embarrassment in front of all of Oklahoma City—and worse, in front of her middle school? Win or lose, taking the million dollar... (more)

Among the Thugs (Vintage Departures)

by Bill Buford

With an Orwellian social imagination, Granta editor Buford offers a terrifying record of his passage through an alternate society--that of England's soccer thugs--in this malevolently funny, supremely chilling document of the allure of crowd violence. Author reading tour.

The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup

The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup

by Matt Weiland, Sean Wilsey

The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup features original pieces by thirty-two leading writers and journalists about the thirty-two nations that have qualified for the world's greatest sporting event. In addition to all the essential information any fan needs—the complete 2006 match schedule, results from past tournaments, facts and figures about the nations, players, teams, and referees—here are essays that... (more)

The Penalty

by Mal Peet

From the award-winning author of TAMAR, a time-shifting thriller about a vanishing soccer star, occult secrets, and the dark history of slavery. As the city of San Juan pulses to summer’s sluggish beat, its teenage soccer prodigy, El Brujito, the Little Magician, vanishes without a trace — right after he misses a penalty kick and loses a big game for his team. Paul Faustino, South America’s top sports reporter,... (more)

Dream Team (Hotshots)

by Terence Blacker

An invitation to play in a tournament means a trip to Suffolk. The Hotshots find that they're involved in a mysterious game that's far more deadly than soccer.

The Abstinence Teacher

by Tom Perrotta

“Some people enjoy it.” That was all Ruth had said. Even now, when she’d had months to come to terms with the fallout from this remark, she still marveled at the power of those four words, which she’d uttered without premeditation and without any sense of treading on forbidden ground. (p. 11) Thanks to an off-hand remark made during a class discussion of oral sex, sex-ed teacher Ruth Ramsey finds herself a... (more)

Soccer Chick Rules

by Dawn Fitzgerald

Tess’s love in life is soccer. When she finds out that all sports at her school will be cut unless the community votes for a tax levy, Tess will do anything to rally votes. She’s even joining forces with a cheerleader to help spread the word and raise funds. Throughout the campaign to save soccer, Tess is playing her heart out on the soccer field and struggling to make passing grades in her classes. But if the... (more)

Bloody Confused!: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccer

Bloody Confused!: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccer

by Chuck Culpepper

Chuck Culpepper was a veteran sports journalist edging toward burnout . . . then he went to London and discovered the high-octane, fanatical (and bloody confusing!) world of English soccer. After covering the American sports scene for fifteen years, Chuck Culpepper suffered from a profound case of Common Sportswriter Malaise. He was fed up with self-righteous proclamations, steroid scandals, and the deluge of... (more)

Discworld: Book 37

Unseen Academicals

by Terry Pratchett

The 37th Discworld novel is set against a backdrop of the culture of football. Football has come to the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork — not the old fashioned, grubby pushing and shoving, but the new, fast football with pointy hats for goalposts and balls that go gloing when you drop them. And now, the wizards of Unseen University must win a football match, without using magic, so they’re in the mood for trying... (more)

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: soccer

by Edward Bloor

by Nick Hornby

by Ann Brashares

by Franklin Foer

by Donna King

by Warren St. John

by Mal Peet

by Liz Tigelaar

by Liz Tigelaar

by Kate Brian

by Joe McGiniss

by Dan Gutman

by Bill Buford

by Matt Weiland, Sean Wilsey

by Mal Peet

by Terence Blacker

by Tom Perrotta

by Dawn Fitzgerald

by Chuck Culpepper

by Terry Pratchett