The Rookie at Northfield High
A Trans Boy's Varsity Soccer Season

About this book:

Leo Walker has spent his whole life watching Northfield soccer from the sidelines—first as the quiet kid in oversized hoodies on the middle school girls' team, now as a freshman boy stepping onto the varsity pitch with a binder beneath his jersey and a clearance form that took three weeks of battles to secure. The grass smells the same, but everything else has changed: the speed is brutal, the upperclassmen are watching, and the team captain, Sam Vance, just offered him a nod instead of a question. In a town where Friday night football is religion and everyone knows your business before you do, Leo has one season to prove he belongs.

What starts as a fight for a roster spot becomes something far bigger when the school board takes notice, old names resurface in whispered hallways, and a midseason protest forces the whole town to choose sides. Coach Hayes only cares about heart and hustle, but the stands tell a different story—and as the playoffs loom, Leo discovers that the hardest plays aren't made with his feet.

*The Rookie at Northfield High* is a fierce, tender debut about claiming your space on the field and in the world—one sprint, one tackle, one hard-won breath at a time.