Good but a little meandering, which I guess is an adequate portrayal of adolescence. Strong writing but kind of hard to care about the characters and their youth is understandable and frustrating at the same time.

i went into this book expecting your typical high school sports story. i was entirely in the wrong. this may be about young characters, but it explored everything from living in a small town, to grief, to growing into yourself as a human being. 4 stars, and i would definitely recommend it to anyone not looking for a fluffy book.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted early copy.

This is a coming of age set in a smaller town. Basketball is another main theme here and I admit it went over my head; however, I recognize what the author did with the book structure and parallels and this was a very unique and creative move.
Coming of age are hit or miss for me, but I really liked this one and the exploration of character identities.
I think I wanted more outside of the MC head, but I recognize this is not that kind of book.
I enjoyed it, but not sure this will stand the test of time for me personally, but will recommend to others.

The longing! The yearning! A SHARP ENDLESS NEED by Marisa Crane captures the deep connection between Mack Morris and Mack's new basketball teammate Liv Cooper. Once the two players connect, their yearning for each other permeates every sentence. It's palpable on the page. The descriptions of Mack and Liv playing together on the court is stunning. I have never played basketball but my partner did; she's taught me quite a bit while watching WNBA games. Marisa Crane's description of the basketball plays brings it all to life in breathless glory. There is magic "watching" Mack and Liv play together.

Off the court, Mack is a heartbreaking character. Mack's funny and real and so heartbroken over the loss of their father. It has left Mack unmoored with a bottomless loss. The fatherly relationship Mack develops with Coach is very believable, offering a very different yet very effective alternate parent-child relationship.

The inner homophobia of Liv and Mack is also believable. It's also extremely hard to see how destructive it is as well. Though understandable, I do question a few parts of the story (which I will not spoil) and why the author found them to be relevant to readers now. One aspect in particular felt right out of early Hollywood depictions of sapphic characters.

This was a really good read and I think it had a decent writing style and story! Would recommend to anyone looking for next read

I enjoyed this book!. It was far less about the romance than it was about the themes of identity and narrow-mindedness, grief and coping, and the pressures and struggles of greatness and prestige. And as it takes place in small-town Pennsylvania circa 2004, it was more than just slightly nostalgic for me (I graduated from a very small town Pennsylvania high school in 2003). Being only a year older than these characters were in this book. I could really relate to the struggles and the identity crises they suffered.

Mac is a local high school basketball star who has her whole world in front of her. She is a star on the court and has her pick of D-1 basketball scholarships from all across the country to choose from. She is used to being a star and used to being the center of attention. She has no aspirations or goals aside from playing basketball in college and then professionally. She is friends with her teammates but still is a bit of a lone wolf and definitely enjoys feeling special, seeing D-1 scouts in the stands every time she plays, fielding phone calls from coaches begging her to join their teams, and getting recognized off the court, especially when she is in Philly watching her beloved Sixers play. When Mac's dad dies from a heart attack, suddenly, she is thrown a little off-kilter. Her dad was always her number one fan and treated her more like the son he never got to have than a daughter. At his celebration of life service, she meets Liv, another stellar basketball star joining her team this year, and this meeting will change the course of Mac's life forever.

Mac and Liv instantly find themselves drawn to each other and their chemistry on and off the court is electrifying and opens up a part of Mac that she has been struggling with setting free in her narrow minded small town. In 2004, coming out was not the kind of thing it is today, and judgments and stereotypes abounded in their small town. Back then there was no Pride Month, no affirmation of being different or true to yourself, no community to help with the transition. Being gay was still seen as a perversion of sorts, and after meeting Liv and finding that missing piece of herself, she struggles with keeping it hidden and the prejudices and condemnation she is sure will follow. She yearns for the acceptance she knows she will find in college, but still struggles with making a decision on which school to attend and play for, so crippled with the idea of making the wrong decision that she becomes widly indecisive about everything.

Liv on the other hand, seems much more sure of herself, and opens Mac up to change, but seems very determined to squash the sexual part of her identity, choosing to stay with an asshole (but very hot) boyfriend all the while leading Mac on, and encouraging Mac to date one of the guys on her boyfriend's team, but then showing immediate and petulant jealousy when Mac sleeps with him in the backseat of her car. Liv was not my favorite character, and although there was some dynamism to her character, I found her behavior in a lot of ways abhorrent.

So what I thought was a basketball romance was more a coming of age novel in a time and setting I could really relate to. Looking back, there were very very few openly gay students that I graduated with (there were those we suspected, that eventually came out later) and reading this book makes me wonder if they were feeling a lot like Mac and Liv were in this novel. And if so it makes me really sad that I grew up in a time when people didn't feel free to be themselves. And in that respect, I really appreciated and enjoyed this book. I also found it bonus points that what I thought was a high school romance ended up being a coming of age novel involving a pretty toxic relationship at its core. Liv's constant flirting and leading Mac on, even getting physical at times, was in direct contrast to her prudish behavior and obvious discomfort when confronted with characters who were openly gay and proud of it when she and Mac do a college visit and stay with one of Liv's old teammates. Conversely, Mac becomes much more open and comfortable when in the same situations, finally feeling that she can be completely herself when surrounded by such openness and lack of judgement. I enjoy the way this author explored this dichotomy between the two lead characters by providing such situations and how each character reacted to those circumstances. It was what I enjoyed most about the book.

What didn't work for me was the ending. I found it rushed and incongruent with the pacing of the rest of the book. It also left so many questions and not enough answers. I also hated the epilogue and found it unnecessary and weirdly ambiguous ( not in a good way, in a WTF way). It took a 4 star book almost down a whole star, but I settled on a 3.5 since I enjoyed the first three quarters so much. I couldn't help but see some of the author's own personal touches as I read that they grew up in a small Pennsylvania town and also was a college basketball star. I always love when I read about an author and find that some of their own history parallels their writing which I think was the case here.

So 3.5 stars for something that I would probably never have picked up if I wasn't invited to so many thanks to Random House and Netgalley for putting this on my radar!

Beautifully introspective and quietly devastating. Crane explores identity and desire with lyrical prose and emotional honesty. It’s not a plot-heavy book, but the atmosphere and internal depth were mesmerizing. A tender and raw literary experience

4⭐️ – A poignant, raw queer coming-of-age story

A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa Crane is a beautifully written and emotionally charged exploration of grief, identity, addiction, and love. Following a high school senior as she struggles with profound loss and self-discovery, this story doesn’t shy away from the messy, painful parts of growing up queer.

Even with zero basketball knowledge, I found the game chapters surprisingly compelling—intense and immersive, they added a strong emotional undercurrent to the narrative.

A moving and reflective read. 3.5 stars, rounded up for its emotional depth and honesty.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Mack Morris is in her senior year of high school, which begins in tragedy, when her gambler father dies suddenly, and a new fascinating girl and new basketball teammate, Liv, arrives in town.

Mack loves basketball, and is a good player, putting in many hours practicing. On the court, she and Liv achieve a partnership, unconsciously choreaographing their moves in such a way that their team is successful repeatedly.

At the same time, Mack is trying to figure out who she is, what she wants to do about higher education, falling deeply for Liv (who reciprocates) despite the conservatism of their small town, and experimenting with drugs and sex.

I wish I had enjoyed this book. The prose is wonderfully constructed, and Mack's many desires and impulses are very well characterized. The only problem was, I never cared about Mack, and even though I love watching basketball, I found the descriptions of the practices and games tedious. Though a moving story, this novel left me cold.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Random House Publishing Group - Random House for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This felt like the perfect book to read during NBA finals! This queer coming of age story was intense. It felt like being in the midst of a spin out and not knowing how to get out. The writing was so smart and thought-evoking. This is one of those books that sit with you for awhile afterward. The characters were so real that they felt like real people I wanted to put my arm around and comfort.

I loved Mac Crane’s previous novel, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself, so reading this almost immediately upon its release felt like a must. This novel is different than their first but I loved it just as much for its own merits. It is more grounded in reality while Exoskeletons has a speculative element and Exoskeletons has a vignette style to the writing while this felt a bit more traditional novel format.

This is set in the early 2000s in Pennsylvania. While this is set a bit father north than where I live it was still fun to recognize the names of several towns mentioned in the book. It is told from the perspective of a high school basketball player, Mack. This book explores multiple things, including grief at the loss of a father and a complicated attraction to a new teammate. At the beginning of this book, Liv transfers to Mack’s school. The two of them are both some of the best basketball players in the state.

I think this book did a great job with the slow burn development of the relationship and the complicated feelings. It showed how painful things can be for people in high school navigating growing up. There was also an exploration of drug use and the impact it had on these characters. This book also really showed the intensity of team sports and how important they can be to teenagers. Different characters in this book had different reasons for why they played and how important it was to them - was it something to do for fun or something that consumed them?

I definitely recommend this and will continue to read whatever Crane writes! If you’ve read this, let me know your thoughts!

Thank you for the arc of this book! Literature like this is so important in today’s world and I always appreciate an author reaching into that.

I'm not a fan of sports romance very much but a book about wlw basketball? absolutely 🙌🏼

This book follows Liv and Mack being in high school and dealing with lots of hard life events. They both play basketball together and as the school year goes on they connect very deeply. They both struggle with being queer as it isn't widely accepted in their hometown. As someone who went to high school in a small southern bible belt town I could relate to them so heavily- especially with exploring my sexuality and just dealing with things as a teenager.

This book perfectly encapsulated sapphic longing and the horrors of suburbia queer coming of age. This story felt so authentic to me - I highly, highly recommend.

I got an ARC of this book.

This was not what I was expecting. I was expecting something a bit lighter and fluffier, instead I got Nina LaCour level angst. I loved it.

My only complaint is it felt like the ending was too abrupt. I wasn’t ready and I am not sure anything was really wrapped up. Everything was still messy and wild. It was great in that it felt real, because there was so much more to happen. But I was left feeling like the book didn’t end and it was just sort of dropped. Some books pull off that abrupt ending and it adds to the book, but in this case I needed something to feel a bit better about the up in the air feelings. I needed one solid thing to grasp onto.

Otherwise, this was wow. The way that the relationships progressed. The way that queerness was portrayed. It felt like reading being a teenager again. I am old enough that being queer as a teen was not cool and was somewhat dangerous. It got better incredibly fast as I hit my 20s. The teens behind me had little to no barriers in the same spaces I was struggling to survive. So seeing a book that made it feel real, but showing the college kids being able to just be shows that part of my own queer history perfectly. It shows just how much of a struggle growing up can be and how it can be life changing to meet a queer elder (elder being used lightly in the case of the book).

I shipped them so hard. I wanted them to be together. I knew they never could be. There was too much against them. There was too much new. Too much adversity. Too much parental supervision. Too much (or too little) basketball.

This is going to be one of those books that stays close to my heart for a long time. This may be my new Far From Xanadu. That book got me through years of queer angst.

Overall, this was a wonderful read. I enjoyed it. The only big issue for me was itjust felt like it wasn’t quite done. I wanted more of an ending.

This novel has great potential It just wasn't for me it did not hold my attention sadly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it.

I will take every chance I get to read about books set in the early 2000s. Perhaps, it's the forever blooming nostalgia I feel but it brings me a sense of comfort and Marisa Crane's A Sharp Endless Need delivers that to the readers on a silver platter. I'm sure experiencing a coming-of-age in a small town is an overwhelming experience but to add in the pressures of perfectionism, queer longing, drugs and alcohol, takes the narrative to another level, certainly an unforgettable one to me.

Marisa Crane's debut novel is one of my all-time favorites. They have this brutal, lyrical way of writing stories, which feel yanked up from the quietest parts of myself. And so I was looking forward to reading a new novel from them, sure I would love it just as much. Spoiler: I did.

A Sharp Endless Need is about being young, defining the soft edges of yourself, being sure of nothing aside from what you want in the moment. It's also about basketball, and it's set in (I believe?) the aughts.

Despite not being a big fan of basketball, or sports in general, this was written so exquisitely that I couldn't look away. Reading ASEN was the closest I've gotten to feeling that specific, vibrant shade of young since living through it.

This novel offers a raw and emotional look at grief, identity, and ambition through the eyes of high school basketball star Mack Morris. The chemistry between Mack and Liv adds intensity both on and off the court, and the story touches on important themes like loss, desire, and self-discovery. While the writing is strong and the characters are compelling, the pacing occasionally drags, and some plot lines feel underdeveloped.
Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book.

This was beautifully raw. Crane dissects grief and love with surgical precision, leaving an indelible mark. I just love their wrtiting.