Crushing It by Erin Becker

Crushing It

Erin Becker

Penguin Young Readers Group · Paperback · May 6, 2025

From debut author Erin Becker comes an action-packed but tender novel about first romance, queer identity, and learning how to be brave when it matters the most—now in paperback!

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Who it’s for
A warm, quick-footed teen romance with sporty spark and a comic tilt.
Genres
LGBTQ+ Stories, Soccer Stories, Love & First Crushes
Published
Penguin Young Readers Group, May 6, 2025

About this book

From debut author Erin Becker comes an action-packed but tender novel about first romance, queer identity, and learning how to be brave when it matters the most—now in paperback! On the soccer field, Magic Mel is in her element. She’s ready to lead her team to victory at the city championship in her new role as captain. Off the field, however, is a totally different story.

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Mel can’t get a handle on her class presentation, her friend group has completely dissolved, and her ex-friend-current-teammate, Tory, is being the worst. The only place she feels like herself is in her text conversations where she shares her secret poetry with BTtoYouPlease. Tory McNally, on the other hand, is keeping everything together, thank you very much. So what if her mom is more preoccupied with her craft projects and new husband than her, or that she’s down to one IRL friend because of annoying, overly peppy “Magic” Mel? She’s perfectly fine, and even when she maybe isn’t, she’s got NotEmilyD to text with. As the championships loom closer, everything around Mel and Tory starts to get more and more complicated: the dynamics on the field, the rift between their friend group, and, as they connect anonymously online, maybe even their feelings for each other...

Warm Sparks

A warm, quick-footed teen romance with sporty spark and a comic tilt.

Come here for

  • Warm, teasing rom-com energy
  • Hockey-adjacent teen romance

Expect

  • Easy chemistry
  • Light, sustained-reading momentum

Where it sits

Soccer Stories83%
Love & First Crushes68%
LGBTQ+ Stories58%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Love & First Crushes
  • Soccer Stories
  • LGBTQ+ Stories
Authors
Erin Becker
Publisher
Penguin Young Readers Group
Published
May 6, 2025
Format
Paperback
Reading lane
Love & First Crushes