Running with Lions

by Julian Winters

Overview

Bloomington High School Lions’ star goalie Sebastian Hughes should be excited about his senior year: His teammates are amazing, and he’s got a coach who doesn’t ask anyone to hide their sexuality. But when his estranged childhood-best-friend Emir Shah shows up at summer training camp, Sebastian realizes the team’s success may end up in the hands of the one guy who hates him. Determined to reconnect with Emir for the sake of the Lions, he sets out to regain Emir’s trust. But to Sebastian’s surprise, sweaty days on the pitch, wandering the town’s streets, and bonding on the weekends spark more than just friendship between them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781945053627
Publisher:	Interlude Press
Publication date:	06/07/2018
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	64,028
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

Editorial Reviews

“A heartwarming freshman novel from an author poised to be a modern Matt Christopher for an older audience.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Funny, wise, and ridiculously romantic. It hit me right in the heart.”—BECKY ALBERTALLI, author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

“A warm, funny, smart and poignant debut, full of heart and full of hope.”—SIMON JAMES GREEN, author of Noah Can’t Even

From the Publisher

2018-04-30
A multiethnic group of Midwestern teenage boys contend with soccer and sexual identity in this coming-of-age novel.Recently dumped by his college-age girlfriend, rising senior Sebastian Hughes nonetheless is looking forward to his final summer at soccer training camp, where he intends to become team captain and immerse himself in the game he loves with teammates who are like family. The arrival of Emir Shah, a handsome British-Pakistani recruit who happens to be Sebastian's former best friend, throws him into a tailspin. Emir has talent but a bad attitude, and if he wants to bring his team together, Sebastian must find common ground with a player to whom he is attracted and who's not quite ready to overlook their complicated history. The most beautiful element of Winters' debut novel is the construction of the camp as a teenage mecca where gay and straight coaches teach the players that team cohesion only happens when they are comfortable with themselves. The author knows his subject matter intimately, and the easy jocular dialogue between the players feels completely authentic. While the third-person perspective occasionally feels awkward, the author's earnestness, which pops off the page, more than makes up for it.A heartwarming freshman novel from an author poised to be a modern Matt Christopher for an older audience. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews