She transferred to my school at the beginning of junior year with all the airs of the big city and a drive to prove herself on and off the court. Tally Gibson was the first and only person I ever loved. We’re playing man-to-man, which is usually my strong suit, but tonight it’s tripping me up because the opponent I’m guarding happens to be my ex-teammate. I dig my sneakers into the court and try to focus on playing defense. If we lose this game, we won’t have the chance to redeem ourselves until we play them in the Christmas Classic, which means these dickheads will have the upper hand for the next two months. This is technically just a preseason game, but it’s against Candlehawk Prep, our rival high school, and right now we’re trailing them by eighteen points. The opposing team grabs the rebound and my ears burn as I run back to play defense on the other side of the court. The ball is usually so controlled in my hands, but tonight it’s like I’m chucking a giant potato through a wind tunnel. I play shooting guard, so I’m supposed to, you know, shoot, but this is the third time I’ve taken a shot that hasn’t even touched the rim. It’s almost as humiliating as the air ball I lobbed up a second ago. “No more shots! Give the ball to someone else!” She’s only using my last name because she can’t remember my first name.

“Zajac!” Coach screams, waving wildly at me.

(Apr.You would think, based on the fact that I’ve played varsity basketball for three years now, that I know how to score a basket. Supportive family whose members actually like each other, and the result is a satisfyingly feminist rom-com mash-up. Things are never easy when love is involved, and Quindlen ( Late to the Party) offers a queer refresh of multiple romance genre standbys: enemies to friends (Irene once had Scottie’s car towed), fake dating, sports romance, and surmounting a broken heart.

Scottie is determined to get revenge, and she soon gets the chance during her senior year-in the form of persuading popular cheer captain and homecoming queen Irene Abraham, who is Indian American, to pretend to be her girlfriend. So it hurts all the more when the manipulative, blue-eyed Tally Gibson, “the first and only person ever loved,” dumps her, transfers to Candlehawk Preparatory to play basketball, and returns to beat Scottie’s team. And two, her town, low-key Grandma Earl, Ga., is the object of mockery for richer, hipper neighbor Candlehawk. Certain things are clear in redheaded white high schooler Scottie Zajac’s world: one, the varsity girls’ basketball team, for which she plays shooting guard, doesn’t matter, since they have no real coach, no budget, and no cheerleaders.

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen