It’s All in How You Fall

Fifteen-year-old Kansas native Caroline Kepler is on her way to becoming a member of an elite gymnastics team when a bad fall off the balance beam worsens her already compromised back, forcing her to quit. Devastated, Caro withdraws emotionally, believing she has no identity without gymnastics until her older brother’s best friend, tennis star and all-around athlete Alex Zavala, offers to coach her in a different sport every week during the summer until she finds a new niche. Suddenly, Caro’s free time is filled with learning the rudiments of volleyball, running, and golf, until she eventually settles on tennis. As thanks for Alex’s coaching, Caro intends to set him up with his longtime crush Sunny Chavez, Caro’s former gymnastics teammate. But when Caro realizes that she has feelings for Alex, she must maneuver her own vacillating self-worth, her brother’s disapproval of the duo’s potential relationship, and nerves surrounding an impending tennis tournament. Former sports journalist and gymnast Henning (The Queen Will Betray You) writes with experience and compassion, never underplaying Caro’s grief over the future she believes she’s lost. Supportive and bighearted characters populate this optimistic novel. Most characters cue as white; Sunny reads as Latinx. Ages 12–up. Agent: Whitney Ross, Irene Goodman Agency. (May)