No Stopping Us Now

Lucy Jane Bledsoe, Three Rooms Press (APR 26) Softcover $15 (288pp) 978-1-953103-20-8

Based in truth, the powerful novel No Stopping Us Now is about the fight for gender equality in sports just after the passage of Title IX.

In 1974, all Louisa wants to do is to play basketball. But her Portland, Oregon, high school is downright hostile to the idea of girls on the court. Despite Title IX, which passed two years earlier to protect anyone from discrimination on the basis of sex in an educational setting, Louisa and a small group of her girlfriends are forced to use the gym before school starts to practice: they are not allowed to form a school-sponsored team.

After Louisa attends a feminist rally and meets Gloria Steinem in person, she is inspired to push for the establishment of an actual girls’ high school basketball team, with a real coach. When her voice becomes a little too loud, she has to tap into her inner strength to fight off public criticism and an antagonistic faculty, all while navigating her love life and making discoveries about her own sexuality. Louisa also tries to unravel the mystery of why her best friend has shut down, and to deal with the emotions surrounding her grandfather’s dementia.

Although the book includes plenty of descriptions about the intricacies of basketball, it is much more than a book about sports. It is a timeless and triumphant story of courage in the face of opposition, as well as a glimpse into the early days of Title IX’S implementation. Louisa’s authentic concerns also help to make the multilayered story universal and relatable.

Knowledgeable about, and appreciative of, the trailblazers who fought for fairness and equal opportunities for women in sports, No Stopping Us Now is an excellent historical novel.