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 Review
Star 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.
Genre: Literary Fiction
‘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 Review
Star 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.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"Honest, engrossing, and full of heart." - Emily Austin
"A Sharp Endless Need is the rare sports novel that both the most rabid fan and someone who's never seen a game will love. Crane has crafted a novel filled with sweat and longing, striking a balance between tenderness, ecstasy, and wry humor that leaves no corner of the heart unexplored." - Jean Kyoung Frazier
"Richly evocative and nostalgic." - Brandon Hobson
"A love letter to adolescent longing . . . I loved every second, even (or maybe especially) while it was breaking my heart." - Gabrielle Korn
"A truly brilliant novel from a truly brilliant and empathetic soul." - Morgan Talty
"Crane is fearless, ferocious, and blessed with the kind of vision that lets you see everything in real time and find your way to something exceptional." - Kevin Wilson
"A Sharp Endless Need is the rare sports novel that both the most rabid fan and someone who's never seen a game will love. Crane has crafted a novel filled with sweat and longing, striking a balance between tenderness, ecstasy, and wry humor that leaves no corner of the heart unexplored." - Jean Kyoung Frazier
"Richly evocative and nostalgic." - Brandon Hobson
"A love letter to adolescent longing . . . I loved every second, even (or maybe especially) while it was breaking my heart." - Gabrielle Korn
"A truly brilliant novel from a truly brilliant and empathetic soul." - Morgan Talty
"Crane is fearless, ferocious, and blessed with the kind of vision that lets you see everything in real time and find your way to something exceptional." - Kevin Wilson
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