
Playing for Keeps
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Narrated by:
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Daisy Guevara
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Bailey Carr
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By:
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Jennifer Dugan
About this listen
From the author of Some Girls Do comes another heartfelt YA sapphic romance—starring a baseball pitcher and a student umpire who are definitely not supposed to fall for one another.
“Sapphic sports romance perfection. Swoony and romantic, but unafraid to tackle grief, family expectations, and fighting for your dreams, this is a home run of a book.”—Rachael Lippincott, coauthor of the #1 New York Times Bestsellers Five Feet Apart and She Gets the Girl
June is the star pitcher of her elite club baseball team—with an ego to match—and she's a shoo-in to be recruited at the college level, like her parents have always envisioned. That is, if she can play through an overuse injury that has recently gone from bad to worse.
Ivy isn't just reffing to pay off her athletic fees or make some extra cash on the side. She wants to someday officiate at the professional level, even if her parents would rather she go to college instead.
The first time they cross paths, Ivy throws June out of a game for grandstanding. Still, they quickly grow from enemies to begrudging friends . . . and then something more. But the rules state that players and umpires are prohibited from dating.
As June's shoulder worsens, and a rival discovers the girls' secret and threatens to expose them, everything the two have worked so hard for is at risk. Now both must choose: follow their dreams . . . or follow their hearts?
©2024 Jennifer Dugan (P)2024 Listening LibraryListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"This sweet romance is a home run."—People Magazine
"Charming . . . Without sacrificing the banter or sincerity that make up this winning romance, Dugan skillfully crafts parallel story lines in which the weight of loss and pressure to succeed haunt the protagonists throughout their everyday lives as they work toward their own futures."—Publishers Weekly
“Playing for Keeps is sapphic sports romance perfection. Swoony and romantic, but unafraid to tackle grief, family expectations, and fighting for your dreams, this is a home run of a book.”—Rachael Lippincott, coauthor of the #1 New York Times Bestsellers Five Feet Apart and She Gets the Girl
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- By: Brittany Cavallaro, Emily Henry
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Thelma and Louise gets remade in this powerful, darkly funny teen novel from acclaimed authors Brittany Cavallaro and Emily Henry. Two teenage girls who have had enough of the controlling men in their lives take their rage on the road to make a new life for themselves.
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Wow
- By Phoenix on 08-06-19
By: Brittany Cavallaro, and others
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Love at First Set
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Dugan
- Narrated by: Lori Prince
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The gym is Lizzie’s life—it’s her passion, her job, and the only place that’s ever felt like home. Unfortunately, her bosses consider her a glorified check-in girl at best, and the gym punching bag at worst. When their son, Lizzie’s best friend, James, begs her to be his plus one at his perfect sister Cara’s wedding, things go wrong immediately, and culminate in Lizzie giving a drunken pep talk to a hot stranger in the women’s bathroom—except that stranger is actually the bride-to-be, and Lizzie has accidentally convinced her to ditch her groom.
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excessive angst, panic, and toxicity
- By Jordan P on 05-17-24
By: Jennifer Dugan
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Unseelie
- By: Ivelisse Housman
- Narrated by: Elena Rey
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde…but as an autistic changeling left in the human world by the fae as an infant, she has always known she is different. Seelie’s unpredictable magic makes it hard for her to fit in—and draws her and Isolde into the hunt for a fabled treasure. In a heist gone wrong, the sisters make some unexpected allies and find themselves unraveling a mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.
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Autistic MC!!! 💕
- By Deborah Overstreet on 05-17-23
By: Ivelisse Housman
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Imogen, Obviously
- By: Becky Albertalli
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kinnunen
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa. Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .
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Sweet, lgbtq+ YA story
- By Leena on 07-01-23
By: Becky Albertalli
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Flowerheart
- By: Catherine Bakewell
- Narrated by: Morag Sims
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Clara’s magic has always been wild. But it’s never been dangerous. Then a simple touch causes poisonous flowers to bloom in her father’s chest. The only way to heal him is to cast an extremely difficult spell that requires perfect control. And the only person willing to help is her former best friend, Xavier, who’s grown from a sweet, shy child into someone distant and mysterious.
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[good for what it was]
- By Anonymous User on 08-08-23
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Storm in Her Heart
- By: KC Luck
- Narrated by: Lori Prince
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Lacey Storm, a bright and ambitious college student, is eagerly counting down the days until graduation, yearning to embark on her career as a graphic designer. The only problem is having to say goodbye to Max, the roommate she's been secretly in love with for years. Max Graham loves running the kitchen at Athena's bar, especially when her roommate, Lacey, stops by. Keeping her crush locked in her heart, Max is content with the occasional stolen glances, or so she thinks until their last chance at love is on the line.
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This was a good listen
- By Sab on 05-21-24
By: KC Luck
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Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches
- By: Kate Scelsa
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventeen-year-old Eleanor is the last person in Salem to believe in witchcraft—or to think that her life could be transformed by mysterious forces. After losing her best friend and first love, Chloe, Eleanor has spent the past year in a haze, vowing to stay away from anything resembling romance.
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Not a fantasy story...
- By Brendan horn on 08-15-23
By: Kate Scelsa
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The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
- By: Sonora Reyes
- Narrated by: Karla Serrato
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Sixteen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she’s gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way.
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Good Topics - Not as engaging as I’d hope
- By AlyssaKate on 09-22-23
By: Sonora Reyes
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The Takedown
- By: Carlie Walker
- Narrated by: Sarah Naughton
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s been a long time since Sydney Swift has gone home for the holidays. An unrelentingly successful CIA field officer, she has spent the last three years pretending to be someone—anyone—other than herself. But this year, the festive season is coming with some added surprises. Sydney’s beloved little sister has just announced that she’s engaged to Johnny Jones, the heir of an organized crime dynasty. With her built-in cover and her best-in-class reputation, Sydney is approached by the FBI as their way to infiltrate the Jones family at last.
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Thriller rom-com!
- By V on 12-26-23
By: Carlie Walker
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Hearts Still Beating
- By: Brooke Archer
- Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio, Gail Shalan
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventeen-year-old Mara is dead—mostly. Infected with a virus that brought the dead back to life and the world to its knees, she wakes up in a facility to learn a treatment for the disease has been found. No longer a Tick, Mara is placed in an experimental resettlement program. But her recovery is complicated by her destination: she’s sent to live with the best friend she hasn’t seen since the world ended—and since their first and only kiss.
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Everything was perfect!
- By Anita Burrows on 06-27-24
By: Brooke Archer
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Hot Dog Girl
- By: Jennifer Dugan
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way: she's landed a job at Magic Castle Playland...as a giant dancing hot dog; her crush, the dreamy diving pirate Nick, already has a girlfriend, who is literally the princess of the park; and it turns out that this will be their last summer at Magic Castle Playland - ever - unless she can find a way to stop it from closing.
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Hotdog Girl
- By Mary on 07-23-19
By: Jennifer Dugan
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Integrity
- Halcyon Division, Book 1
- By: E. J. Noyes
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s an ordinary workday when intelligence analyst Lexie Martin learns about a horrific chemical weapon attack abroad. Just an ordinary day...until a stranger breaks into her house and warns her to forget what she saw and heard, setting off a chain of events Lexie thought only happened in movies. Falsely accused of stealing intelligence and unsure of who to trust, Lexie quickly realizes the significance of the intel and that she must do everything she can to keep it safe. And as she runs—maybe for her life—Lexie knows she needs something, or someone, to help her.
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So Good!
- By csofthemidwest on 05-28-23
By: E. J. Noyes
What listeners say about Playing for Keeps
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- K
- 09-01-24
Good
Embraced the YA readers, enjoyed the narrative and would have loved to have had this as a youth. Breaking grounds with the new norms. I liked this book very much.
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- Emmie Fish
- 04-30-25
Best of Dugan
Ill be honest that most of her books haven't 100% landed with me. However Keeps really did.
It has it's moments where you want to wring a character's neck, but they are teens, of course they are gonna make silly mistakes. I really loved seeing they way they cared for eachothers dreams. And it was refreshing to not spend too long before the MCs admit liking eachother and get together.
It was a sweet (mostly) light read molded around a unique backdrop.
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- MLTU
- 05-19-24
Playing For Keeps
This was cute. It really highlights the pressures teens can feel when trying to live up to parents' expectations. Everything feels so big, and it all is teetering on a very fine line. June and Ivy are dealing with their own pressures about their futures when they first meet. They were in opposing positions, so it didn't make for the best first impressions. After realizing they actually have more in common than they think, they fall in love... but Ivy being an official and June being a player, they are not allowed to date. So they do it secret.
As the pressure starts to mount, things get complicated for the couple. It becomes quite a mess of things towards the end, but it was sweet how it all got sorted out. A good read for the YA crowd.
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- Brian
- 05-17-24
A Swoon-Worthy Pitch (and Home Run)
As someone who has delighted in Jennifer Dugan's exploration of young adult themes in "Some Girls Do" and the playful adult romantic comedy "Love at First Set," I stepped up to Playing for Keeps with high expectations—and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. This latest offering is a heartwarming tale of two young women, a baseball pitcher and a student umpire, whose paths cross in the most conflicting yet charming ways.
From the moment I pressed play, I was hooked. The narrative, expertly delivered by narrators Daisy Guevara and Bailey Carr, captured the perfect blend of youthful zeal and serious undertones. Both narrators have a knack for bringing Dugan's characters to life, with a warmth that feels like you're listening to old friends recount their lives. I particularly enjoyed the heartfelt portrayal of June and Ivy, whose dreams and ambitions resonate deeply with me both in women I personally know and the other glass ceiling shatterers out there.
The story itself is both light-hearted and profound, exploring themes of love, ambition, and personal growth. The banter between June and Ivy is filled with the kind of witty repartee that makes you laugh out loud, yet their struggles with family expectations and personal dreams add a layer of depth to their journey. The intersection of their careers in sports—a field where women continue to break barriers—is portrayed with honesty and admiration, reflecting Dugan's commitment to telling stories that resonate with authenticity and empowerment.
Moreover, the romance that blossoms between June and Ivy is delightfully complex. It's not just about the forbidden allure of a player-umpire relationship; it's about how two people with seemingly incompatible roles on the baseball field can find harmony and understanding off it. The development of their relationship is paced perfectly, capturing the essence of a slow-burn romance that's worth every minute of the wait.
Playing for Keeps is a home run in the world of YA sapphic romance. It balances the light-heartedness of young love with the weightier themes of personal identity and professional ambition. Jennifer Dugan continues to impress with her ability to weave captivating narratives that are as entertaining as they are meaningful.
In essence, this audiobook is a testament to the power of love and dreams. It serves as a reminder that sometimes, playing for keeps means more than just winning a game—it's about understanding and embracing who we are and whom we love. Dugan has done it again, delivering a story that not only entertains but inspires. I'm already looking forward to her next pitch!
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- Jason Mark
- 05-09-24
Stupid romcom secrets caused me to skip so many chapters because I couldn’t deal with it anymore
I love this author’s writing style and really enjoy some of her other books, but I skipped so many chapters of this one because she just kept going on and on about people keeping stupid useless secrets that are gonna blow up at the end like a crappy sitcom from the 90s
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