Girlhood is truly a hellscape for most and even more for those who feel like they are on the outside of the margins.

Thank you for Netgalley and the publisher for arc in exchange for a honest review. This book was a bittersweet exploration of an extremely homoerotic friendship revolving around basketball. i really liked the imperfect perfection of the main characters. i think people who enjoyed sunburn or the song naked in manhattan by chapell roan will loveeeeee this. i highly recommend to just about anyone and can’t wait for this to come out!!

I really, really enjoyed this. It had everything I love, queer yearning, screwed up dynamics, and women's basketball--written by someone who clearly understood all of these things. Highly recommended.

Marisa Crane’s A Sharp Endless Need is a raw and emotional coming-of-age novel about Mack, a high school basketball star navigating grief, love, and self-discovery. Her connection with new teammate Liv is electrifying, both on and off the court. Crane’s writing captures the messy intensity of first love and adolescence, but the heavy focus on basketball and excessive drug use sometimes felt distracting. While it didn’t fully resonate with me, it’s a powerful, emotional read for young queer women and femmes, offering a lot of heart and complexity.

Marisa Crane has a way of writing that feels like a gut punch—in the best way possible. A Sharp Endless Need is raw, intimate, and beautifully unsettling, pulling you into a world of longing, grief, and the relentless pursuit of connection.

The novel explores the complexities of love and loss in a way that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. Crane’s prose is sharp yet poetic, balancing emotional intensity with moments of quiet reflection. There were passages that made me pause just to take in the weight of the words.

That being said, the book leans heavily into its lyrical style, which at times made the pacing feel slower than I would have liked. It was beautiful, but there were moments when I wanted to be more immersed in the characters rather than the language itself. Still, the emotional depth and the way this author captures the nuances of human relationships more than made up for it.

If you love introspective, beautifully written literary fiction that isn’t afraid to sit in the messiness of emotion, this is absolutely worth the read. It lingers—just like the best books do.

"No, I want to marry my regrets. To find a way to adore them for their sharp endless need."

This book is a brilliant coming-of-age novel about Mack Morris, entering her senior year of high school with the death of her father and a new teammate named Liv Cooper hanging over her head. Focused on nothing but greatness on the court, Mack is wracked with darkness off the court. Desperately trying to reconcile who she is outside of basketball in small-town Pennsylvania in 2004, Mack is forced to face what she is willing to do for the life she craves.

Written with so much depth and longing, this book will stick with me for a very long time.

Y’all… this book *wrecked* me. It’s raw, electric, and so painfully real that I kept catching my breath between chapters. Marisa Crane perfectly captures the high stakes of first love, grief, and ambition, all set against the sweaty, adrenaline-fueled backdrop of high school basketball.

Mack Morris is a character who *feels* her grief over her father’s death, her obsession with Liv, her hunger for something bigger than her small-town life. The way Crane writes their chemistry is *so* intense, both on and off the court. It’s messy, it’s beautiful, and it’s *so* 2004 (cue the nostalgia). Think *Love & Basketball* meets *Call Me by Your Name*, but with even sharper edges.

The way this book explores identity, queerness, and the suffocating expectations of small-town life? Absolutely gut-wrenching. And the writing? Lyrical, punchy, and impossible to put down. If you love stories about love that consumes, grief that lingers, and sports as both salvation and escape this one’s for you.

This was Stunning. Kinda like Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth mixed with Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas and the main character is Zendaya in Challengers except basketball and gay. This book tasted like sweat. It was so so good.

In A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa Crane, Mack is aimlessly forging her way through her senior year of high school where basketball is her saving grace. The drinking and drugs are a mark for the grief and hidden sexual desires she has for a new teammate, Liv.

Positives: Setting a book in a competitive high school basketball team gives a glimpse into recruitment that students faced in the time the book takes place. I’m sure today’s recruiting world with NIL is much different. Today’s world would’ve done Mack’s family a lot more good for what they were going through.

Struggles: I will say that either I’m delusional on high school athletic drug use or there was a bit of overkill on how often and how hard of drugs were used by several characters in the book. Mack’s demons were numerous and overwhelming. She had a lot of burden she carried (and created) that would be difficult for a grown adult, much less a 17 year old.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book will be published on May 12, 2025. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#netgalley #arc #bookstagram #penguinrandomhouse #ASharpEndlessNeed #Marisa_Crane

<I>How was I expected to explain to this stranger that the more I desired, the more those desires emptied me? That if I could be anyone else, I would.</I>

4.5 / I don't know anything about basketball and I'm FAR from a sporty person but I absolutely loved Marisa Crane's first novel, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself, so as soon as I found out they had a new book coming out I knew I had to read it, no matter what it was about. This beautifully written small-town coming-of-age story reminded me a lot of the first half of Emily M. Danforth's The Miseducation of Cameron Post, one of my favorite books, with the focus on characters and emotions and the fact that Liv reminded me a lot of Coley. Unfortunately this didn't quite resonate with me as much as Crane's first book did, but I think it would be even more moving than that to the right person. I also think reading this as an ebook kinda inhibited me from loving it as much as I could have BUT I still highly recommend.

thanks to netgalley, the dial press, and penguin for the arc!

Final Rating: 3/5 stars
My previous experience in regards to literature that focuses on queer female romance is almost non-existent, so I was really excited to read this arc. It did not disappoint! The language was beautiful and even though I know nothing about basketball, the terms used were not confusing and explained the perfect amount for many to understand. However, that was also a point that brought down my rating as I believe someone who has previous experience with the sport would have a lot more appreciation for what was discussed in the context of the book. The exploration of the self, sexuality and friendships was well developed and progressed through the story (which read very fast). I did not really agree with the ending and would have preferred to have something more concrete considering the nature of the story. Overall, the language was beautiful (even if at times I thought it was somewhat forced).

Rating: 4.5/5

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A thoughtful, unique story about struggling with love, grief, self-acceptance, and growing up.

I came into this with the very little basketball knowledge that comes with playing on middle school JV team. I've been a (casual) athlete for most of my life but have never been a particularly good or committed one. So, I couldn't exactly relate to Mack's love, and need for basketball. I can, however, relate to a young queer kid with an overly intimate friendship who is struggling to figure out who they are while simultaneously self sabotaging their life. And this book so perfectly encapsulated that experience.

The writing gave me such a seamless view into Mack's head and how she experienced the world. The lense of a talented and obsessive athlete was such an interesting way of exploring vice and pouring all of yourself into something external to avoid looking inward. The switch between active and passive voice (i.e. direct quotes from a character vs "she told me how") mimicked the act of storytelling so well it really felt like I was with Mack as she told me her story.

It is definitely a character driven book and I found it a bit slow at times, but the prose is beautiful and the story is heart wrenching in a wonderful way. Highly recommend this read.

A sharp endless need by Marisa Crane is a coming of age book about a relationship between two basketball teammates.

Mack Morris's senior year of high school begins with the death of her father. At the same time a new transfer kid came to the school, Liv Cooper.

Mack and Liv have amazing chemistry both on and off the court which does not go over well in their small Pennsylvania town.

If you're a fan of Call Me By Your Name and Love & Basketball then this is the book for you.

Thank you to Marisa Crane for partnering with NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Publish date May 13 2025

Marisa Crane’s A Sharp Endless Need is a deeply felt, nostalgic coming-of-age novel that captures the messy, all-consuming intensity of first love, grief, and the suffocating weight of small-town expectations. Set in rural Pennsylvania in 2004, the novel follows Mack Morris, a high school basketball star whose world is rocked by the sudden loss of her father. As she navigates her senior year, the arrival of transfer student Liv Cooper changes everything. Their chemistry on the court is electric, but off the court, their relationship is even more charged—filled with longing, confusion, and the quiet terror of being different in a town that doesn’t welcome difference.

Crane writes with an unflinching honesty about adolescence—the impulsivity, the desperation to belong, and the way emotions can feel both overwhelming and impossible to define. Mack and Liv’s connection is as exhilarating as it is painful, and while I sometimes struggled to fully grasp their emotional landscape, that might be the point—teenage love is rarely neat or fully understood, even by those experiencing it. The novel also benefits from strong secondary characters, like Grayson and Katrina, who ground the story in the daily rhythms of high school life. At times, the narrative feels uneven, but perhaps that meant to further mirror the strange, uncertain nature of adolescence.

With its blend of raw emotion, sports-fueled tension, and coming-of-age nostalgia, A Sharp Endless Need is a powerful, if at times chaotic, exploration of love, loss, and self-discovery.

Honestly, I don’t get why this has so many 5 star reviews…
I found it boring and over written. Everything was described in so much detail. I skimmed only because it was a netgalley arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this arc!

There were things I loved about this book and things I didn’t. I loved Mack’s yearning for Liv and her coming of age story. I enjoyed her grappling with her sexuality and her crush, as well as navigating grief.

I didn’t like how much this book relied on basketball. I skimmed most of those parts because I don’t resonate with it. I also didn’t like the extreme amounts of drug and alcohol use. It felt inappropriate and over the top.

At times it felt repetitive and lost my interest. The ending was also not satisfying to me. But that being said, I wish I had read this in high school and I hope young queer women and femmes give this book a shot!

An overall 4.8 star read? I didn`t love the pacing in the first quarter and also thought sometimes the story, as well as the character development dragged a bit. I think the second part really pushed me over the 4 star mark, as i was actually interested in the ending. It finally felt like the stakes were a bit higher. In the end the author was spitting straight facts, and in such a poetic and relevant way too.

I was a bit confused in the beginning, because it was obvious that the basketball was a big metaphorical part of the book, and me not even knowing the rules of. Basketball, i was kinda lost on that part.

I really liked the familial relationships that were shown in the book, especially livs relationship to her mom, since it reminded me of lucy and her mom from the book sunburn (which is my fav book as of late).

The book also touched on a bunch of topics that were pretty serious but not explored well, like eating disorders in sports or drug addictions. Especially with addiction, when its not further touched on you feel as if addiction was instrumentalised for entertainment. I thought maybe the author could have simply stated the fact if mack was clean or not in the end, instead of just forgetting that plot point.

I did think the end was written in the best way it could have been, and the story ended on the perfect note. She could have ended the book on each of the last 4 chapters and have a completely fine ending, even if incomplete or sad. But im glad she stuck to her idea, because now looking back, you could see those chapter endings as alternate endings and appreciate that we got to experience such character growth.

The story is set in a small town in the early 2000s. Mack is a senior in high school and plays basketball. Her father passes away, and at the funeral, she meets Liv, her future teammate. Mack immediately feels drawn to Liv but keeps it to herself.

The book features a lot of basketball, and Marisa Crane describes it masterfully. It turns out she is a former college basketball player, so that makes sense. I liked that the author touched on many important themes: coming-of-age, self-discovery, dealing with loss, coming to terms with one's sexuality, and parent-child relationships.

But unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. The characters frequently consume alcohol and various drugs throughout the book. I understand that it’s about teenagers, but for high schoolers aiming to become professional athletes, it felt inappropriate to me. I also didn’t particularly like any of the characters, and the ending felt rushed, leaving me with so many unanswered questions. After finishing the book, I can't even say for sure—does it have a happy ending?

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House (The Dial Press) for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

On the surface, this book is about basketball, but at its core, it’s a powerful coming-of-age story about grief, love, friendship, longing, and identity. Basketball is woven seamlessly into the narrative—not just as a sport but as a lens through which the characters’ emotions and struggles unfold. The love for the game is evident, making it immersive even for readers who aren’t sports fans. The writing is strong, the kind of style that really engages me, the characters are clearly drawn, and the relationships capture the intensity of high school friendships and romance and just "all the things:. The characters' connection is messy and overwhelming, capturing the rawness of young love, even if at times I struggled to feel like I fully understood their feelings (then again, that's adolescence in a nutshell). The secondary characters, like Grayson and Katrina, add depth, making the plot and story more realistic to the daily life and contexts of high schoolers.

That said, the book has some uneven parts, which might be intentional if we are really trying to get into how adolescences feelings and the oddness that was the late 90s and early 200os (I know of which I speak). While Mack is a compelling protagonist, being inside her head can be frustrating at times (again though teenagers and growing up are this way). The heavy presence of drug and alcohol use felt somewhat unrealistic, especially given the lack of consequences from coaches or parents. I also wanted more from the actual time period, I saw this in other reviews and I agree, something was missing about the why of this time/setting though it was relevant to identity and coming of age themes in the story.

Despite these issues, this is a nuanced and emotionally resonant novel that captures the pressures of senior year, the complexities of identity, and the quiet, defining moments of adolescence. While it follows a high schooler, it doesn’t read as YA, tackling mature themes that make it just as compelling for adult readers.

3.5/5

This book is a powerful coming-of-age story that effortlessly blends a queer sports romance with raw emotional depth. Mack and Liv’s connection is intense and fast, capturing the messy, overwhelming nature of young love, though a bit more buildup at the start would have been welcome. Still, their dynamic is captivating, making the journey feel authentic and gripping.

Even if you're not into sports, the sharp writing and immersive atmosphere make this book worth picking up. It’s got a bit of Challengers intensity mixed with Euphoria-like grief, and it works perfectly. The side characters, like Mack’s friends Grayson and Katrina, are also thoughtfully developed.

For anyone who’s ever navigated identity and love, this book hits hard. Mack’s confidence in her masculinity is empowering, showing that there’s beauty in embracing all parts of who we are. It’s a poignant reflection on self-discovery, love, and finding your place in a world that can feel both vast and confining. The more I sit with this story, the more it resonates. It’s a book that lingers long after you’ve finished.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!