A vibrant and intimate novel about growing up, first love, and all the joy and heartbreak of competitive high school basketball, from the Lambda Literary Award–winning author of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself
“Deeply affecting . . . Crane’s writing drives forward hard and fast. . . . Knowledge of the sport isn’t required to understand the novel; all you need is a familiarity with loving something to the point of pain.”—Casey McQuiston, The New York Times Book ReviewStar point guard Mack Morris’s senior year of high school begins with twin cataclysms: the death of Mack’s father and the arrival of transfer student Liv Cooper. Playing side by side for their high school basketball team, Mack and Liv discover an electrifying, game-winning chemistry on the court. Off the court, they fall into an equally intoxicating more-than-friendship—one that feels out-of-bounds in their small Pennsylvania town. Mack teeters on the precipice of adulthood as desire and grief collide with drugs, sex, and the looming college signing deadline. Caught between the dual impulses of ambition and self-destruction, Mack must decide what kind of life they want to fight for.
Written with the lush longing of André Aciman’s
Call Me by Your Name, the obsessive attention of Jean Kyoung Frazier’s
Pizza Girl, and the sweeping romance of the beloved film
Love & Basketball, A Sharp Endless Need is a stunning testament to the big feelings of coming of age, falling in love, and, of course, playing sports.
"Star point guard Mack Morris's senior year of high school begins with twin cataclysms: the death of her father and the arrival of transfer student Liv Cooper. On the court, Mack and Liv discover an exhilarating, game-winning chemistry; off the court, they fall into an equally intoxicating more-than-friendship that is out of bounds for their small Pennsylvania town in 2004, and especially for Liv's conservative mother. As Mack's desire and grief collide with drugs, sex, and the looming college signing deadline, she is forced to reckon with the disconnects between her past and her future--and fight for the life she wants for herself, whether or not Liv will be on the court beside her"--
