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Surviving The Second Tier
“Sicily “Sis” Jones is the only undefeated college athlete in the Amateur Fighting Association (AFA), but her spotless record is running her life. She’s living on pennies and nursing a debilitating injury. Her teammates have their share of struggles, too. Striker fights to support his struggling family. Rip has a secret. Cal harbors a grudge.
Topping it off is their cut-throat coach who pushes them beyond their limits for the sake of his own career.
It’s a new order in the world of college athletics. After a financial crisis, the AFA had to salvage its profits. Fighting became the only sport, a brilliant and violent solution to the economic collapse. But at what cost to the athletes?
Sis and her teammates have made it through nearly four years together at their little second-tier university. But all bets are off when the AFA puts Sis against one of her own. Will the Association survive the aftermath?”
Topping it off is their cut-throat coach who pushes them beyond their limits for the sake of his own career.
It’s a new order in the world of college athletics. After a financial crisis, the AFA had to salvage its profits. Fighting became the only sport, a brilliant and violent solution to the economic collapse. But at what cost to the athletes?
Sis and her teammates have made it through nearly four years together at their little second-tier university. But all bets are off when the AFA puts Sis against one of her own. Will the Association survive the aftermath?”
429 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 21, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 2, 2022
‘Sis Jones won’t stop chasing perfection, no matter what the personal cost may be’
Texas author M.K. (Katie) Lever is a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication, studying NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) discourse. Having served as a former Division 1 runner – she ran track and cross country for Western Kentucky University - she now is a freelance writer for LRT Sports and a sports consultant with a mission to aid future college athletes in navigating the NCAA. SURVIVING THE SECOND TIER is her debut novel.
Lever has successfully sculpted a story that, while informed by her own experiences as a college athlete and her subsequent entry in to the world of the NCAA, creates an inside view of the lives of college athletes and the impact of competition, physical preparation, studies, and friendships on final results. Her skills embrace reportage and enthralling prose and the result is a novel will win attention.
A brief synopsis of the plot – Sicily “Sis” Jones is the only undefeated college athlete in the Amateur Fighting Association (AFA), but her spotless record is ruining her life. She’s living on pennies and nursing a debilitating injury. Her teammates have their share of struggles, too. Striker fights to support his struggling family. Rip has a secret. Cal harbors a grudge. Topping it off is their cutthroat coach who pushes them beyond their limits for the sake of his own career. It’s a new order in the world of college athletes. After a financial crisis, the AFA had to salvage its profits. Fighting became the only sport, a brilliant and violent solution to the economic collapse. Bt at what cost to the athletes? Sis and her teammates have made it through nearly four years together at their little second-tier university. But all bets are off when the AFA puts Sis against one of her own. Will the Association survive the aftermath?
One of the many reasons this novel works so well is the author’s decision to relate the story from the viewpoint of several characters, each addressing the reader in a conversational manner that explains their intertwining role with Sis and her absorption with winning. Some moments include not only Sis’ personal goals but add the implications of the role of the selection of athletes by colleges and universities: ‘Life might be better if I had made it into a first-tier university – at least the more elite athletes get nice things, with all the money the universities make off them. South Hill State can’t afford any extravagance.’ ‘It’s exhausting to watch these broken athletes compete under an office of bureaucrats who have never spent a second in the ring themselves, and who honestly don’t give a damn about the people they oversee.’ ‘The AFA’s entire system is pitted against the fighters, as athletic funding works the same at every school.’ And those are but a few of the consequential lines in this solid book.
The novel develops sensitive relationships between players (fighters), coaches, trainers, and fellow competitors, including emotional attractions and fears, and as Sis trains toward her ultimately unsuccessful goal, wise and tender lessons alter victory of a different kind. To say more would be providing spoilers. MK Lever steps onto the stage as both a fine novelist and as a resource for considering the controversial dramas concerning athletes and higher education. Recommended for a very broad audience.
Texas author M.K. (Katie) Lever is a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication, studying NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) discourse. Having served as a former Division 1 runner – she ran track and cross country for Western Kentucky University - she now is a freelance writer for LRT Sports and a sports consultant with a mission to aid future college athletes in navigating the NCAA. SURVIVING THE SECOND TIER is her debut novel.
Lever has successfully sculpted a story that, while informed by her own experiences as a college athlete and her subsequent entry in to the world of the NCAA, creates an inside view of the lives of college athletes and the impact of competition, physical preparation, studies, and friendships on final results. Her skills embrace reportage and enthralling prose and the result is a novel will win attention.
A brief synopsis of the plot – Sicily “Sis” Jones is the only undefeated college athlete in the Amateur Fighting Association (AFA), but her spotless record is ruining her life. She’s living on pennies and nursing a debilitating injury. Her teammates have their share of struggles, too. Striker fights to support his struggling family. Rip has a secret. Cal harbors a grudge. Topping it off is their cutthroat coach who pushes them beyond their limits for the sake of his own career. It’s a new order in the world of college athletes. After a financial crisis, the AFA had to salvage its profits. Fighting became the only sport, a brilliant and violent solution to the economic collapse. Bt at what cost to the athletes? Sis and her teammates have made it through nearly four years together at their little second-tier university. But all bets are off when the AFA puts Sis against one of her own. Will the Association survive the aftermath?
One of the many reasons this novel works so well is the author’s decision to relate the story from the viewpoint of several characters, each addressing the reader in a conversational manner that explains their intertwining role with Sis and her absorption with winning. Some moments include not only Sis’ personal goals but add the implications of the role of the selection of athletes by colleges and universities: ‘Life might be better if I had made it into a first-tier university – at least the more elite athletes get nice things, with all the money the universities make off them. South Hill State can’t afford any extravagance.’ ‘It’s exhausting to watch these broken athletes compete under an office of bureaucrats who have never spent a second in the ring themselves, and who honestly don’t give a damn about the people they oversee.’ ‘The AFA’s entire system is pitted against the fighters, as athletic funding works the same at every school.’ And those are but a few of the consequential lines in this solid book.
The novel develops sensitive relationships between players (fighters), coaches, trainers, and fellow competitors, including emotional attractions and fears, and as Sis trains toward her ultimately unsuccessful goal, wise and tender lessons alter victory of a different kind. To say more would be providing spoilers. MK Lever steps onto the stage as both a fine novelist and as a resource for considering the controversial dramas concerning athletes and higher education. Recommended for a very broad audience.
January 28, 2022
Chilling and Revealing – a one of a kind new dystopian world!
M.K. Lever’s debut novel Surviving the Second Tier draws on a world with which she is intimately familiar – college athletics. As a third-generation Division 1 athlete, college athletics is in her blood. Competing for Western Kentucky University in 2012-2016, Lever was All-conference award winner in track and field and cross country, two-time Sun Belt Conference champion in track and field (indoor and outdoor), and a Conference USA team champion (outdoor track). Currently a PhD candidate at UT Austin, Lever now analyzes NCAA rhetoric, discourse, and policy. She combines elements of her experiences in college athletics with the weight of her academic research in the area of NCAA discourse and policy, setting these into a fictional dystopian backdrop to create the unsettling and impactful Surviving the Second Tier.
In a not-too distant future, there’s a new day in college athletics – driven to collapse by corruption and overspending, the old multi-support model collapsed. From its ashes, a new, bare bones, grittier, but extremely profitable model arose to replace it. Where competitors once competed in a multitude of sports on a variety of playing fields, now college athletes have only the ring in which to prove themselves in a full-contact, no holds barred fight to the finish. The AFA (Amateur Fighting Association) pits athletes against each other in public, while behind the scenes in the dark and gritty inner world of the coaches and upper management, profit takes priority over person, ratings rank more than responsibility, and manipulation of minds makes money for everyone but the athletes.
Undefeated and on her way to a perfect record, Sis Jones pushes her way through injury and financial stress to maintain both her fighting record and her perfect GPA. Pressure from both a manipulative father and a cut-throat coach add to her already driven nature, keeping her right at the edge of breaking and hungry to win. Most of Sis’s teammates are in no better place – the AFA taps into the pool of poor, disadvantaged kids and the fame attained in the ring to further the profits wrung from the lives of the athletes. Each member of Sis’s team fights for different reasons, but all of those are expertly exploited by their coach to gain maximum control. When the AFA pits Sis against one of her own teammates in competition, a violent outcome fractures the fragile bond between teammates, coaches, and the AFA, and uncovers the rotten underbelly of the system. Lever expertly weaves together the perspectives of each character, drawing readers into the emotional lives of the athletes and into a provocative story that will leave them wondering who and what can survive.
This is a one of a kind book, an emotionally striking, multifaceted narrative of manipulation and control that is both chilling and revealing. While fictional, Surviving the Second Tier is all too easy to believe in light of the scandals and accusations of abuse within the NCAA, USA Gymnastics, and countless other sports institutions. This is a valuable contribution to current conversations around the abuse, control, and exploitation of college athletes. M.K. Lever has given us a knockout work of fiction – the college sports industry meets the Hunger Games in a sparse, moving, emotionally enthralling story that will keep you in its grasps until the last page.
M.K. Lever’s debut novel Surviving the Second Tier draws on a world with which she is intimately familiar – college athletics. As a third-generation Division 1 athlete, college athletics is in her blood. Competing for Western Kentucky University in 2012-2016, Lever was All-conference award winner in track and field and cross country, two-time Sun Belt Conference champion in track and field (indoor and outdoor), and a Conference USA team champion (outdoor track). Currently a PhD candidate at UT Austin, Lever now analyzes NCAA rhetoric, discourse, and policy. She combines elements of her experiences in college athletics with the weight of her academic research in the area of NCAA discourse and policy, setting these into a fictional dystopian backdrop to create the unsettling and impactful Surviving the Second Tier.
In a not-too distant future, there’s a new day in college athletics – driven to collapse by corruption and overspending, the old multi-support model collapsed. From its ashes, a new, bare bones, grittier, but extremely profitable model arose to replace it. Where competitors once competed in a multitude of sports on a variety of playing fields, now college athletes have only the ring in which to prove themselves in a full-contact, no holds barred fight to the finish. The AFA (Amateur Fighting Association) pits athletes against each other in public, while behind the scenes in the dark and gritty inner world of the coaches and upper management, profit takes priority over person, ratings rank more than responsibility, and manipulation of minds makes money for everyone but the athletes.
Undefeated and on her way to a perfect record, Sis Jones pushes her way through injury and financial stress to maintain both her fighting record and her perfect GPA. Pressure from both a manipulative father and a cut-throat coach add to her already driven nature, keeping her right at the edge of breaking and hungry to win. Most of Sis’s teammates are in no better place – the AFA taps into the pool of poor, disadvantaged kids and the fame attained in the ring to further the profits wrung from the lives of the athletes. Each member of Sis’s team fights for different reasons, but all of those are expertly exploited by their coach to gain maximum control. When the AFA pits Sis against one of her own teammates in competition, a violent outcome fractures the fragile bond between teammates, coaches, and the AFA, and uncovers the rotten underbelly of the system. Lever expertly weaves together the perspectives of each character, drawing readers into the emotional lives of the athletes and into a provocative story that will leave them wondering who and what can survive.
This is a one of a kind book, an emotionally striking, multifaceted narrative of manipulation and control that is both chilling and revealing. While fictional, Surviving the Second Tier is all too easy to believe in light of the scandals and accusations of abuse within the NCAA, USA Gymnastics, and countless other sports institutions. This is a valuable contribution to current conversations around the abuse, control, and exploitation of college athletes. M.K. Lever has given us a knockout work of fiction – the college sports industry meets the Hunger Games in a sparse, moving, emotionally enthralling story that will keep you in its grasps until the last page.
May 16, 2022
Surviving the Second Tier by author M.K Lever is a sci-fi novel that is different from anything else out there. It is a combination of dystopian sci-fi, college drama, and an underdog sports story. The setting is nebulous. We know the novel is set in the future, but Lever leaves it up to the reader to decide how distant. Technology has advanced but is not far-fetched. We know that there are drones, automated exercise equipment, and self-driving cars. The setting is what I would call grounded dystopian. There has been yet another economic crash, and once again, it is the younger generation who are paying the price.
This captivating novel takes a close look at the world of college sport but through the lens of a dystopian future. In this world, college sports as we know it has been replaced with the AFA (American Fighting Association). Male and female athletes now fight in an MMA-style fighting league where only the toughest and best-funded succeed. Like most extraordinary sports stories, we follow Sis Jones, a second-tier fighter who is undefeated and coming towards the end of her college career. Sis might be successful in the ring, but it isn’t doing her much good. As a poorly-paid second-tier fighter, the fighting takes its toll on her health and grades. We follow Sis and her teammates as they are pushed and manipulated further and further by their greedy coach and college higher-ups. In the end, enough is enough, and the athletes rebel and take on the corruption directly.
Surviving the second tier feels almost like a more grounded Hunger Games. The setting may not be quite as dramatic and the stakes not quite as high, but Sis is still fighting for survival in many ways. Most of us have never had to fight to the death, but struggling to make ends meet will be painfully familiar to most of us.
Lever is a former college athlete herself, and this shows. She has extensive knowledge of the subject and has gone to great pains to highlight the abuse and corruption that goes widely unreported in college sports today. As well as shining a light on the discrepancies between first-tier and second-tier college teams. For every first-tier college athlete that goes on to great success, many are left behind.
Surviving the Second tier is a gripping dystopian novel with a great underdog story full of easy to root for heroes with an important message. This unconventional combination of genres will give readers a unique look into college sports and much to think about.
This captivating novel takes a close look at the world of college sport but through the lens of a dystopian future. In this world, college sports as we know it has been replaced with the AFA (American Fighting Association). Male and female athletes now fight in an MMA-style fighting league where only the toughest and best-funded succeed. Like most extraordinary sports stories, we follow Sis Jones, a second-tier fighter who is undefeated and coming towards the end of her college career. Sis might be successful in the ring, but it isn’t doing her much good. As a poorly-paid second-tier fighter, the fighting takes its toll on her health and grades. We follow Sis and her teammates as they are pushed and manipulated further and further by their greedy coach and college higher-ups. In the end, enough is enough, and the athletes rebel and take on the corruption directly.
Surviving the second tier feels almost like a more grounded Hunger Games. The setting may not be quite as dramatic and the stakes not quite as high, but Sis is still fighting for survival in many ways. Most of us have never had to fight to the death, but struggling to make ends meet will be painfully familiar to most of us.
Lever is a former college athlete herself, and this shows. She has extensive knowledge of the subject and has gone to great pains to highlight the abuse and corruption that goes widely unreported in college sports today. As well as shining a light on the discrepancies between first-tier and second-tier college teams. For every first-tier college athlete that goes on to great success, many are left behind.
Surviving the Second tier is a gripping dystopian novel with a great underdog story full of easy to root for heroes with an important message. This unconventional combination of genres will give readers a unique look into college sports and much to think about.
January 26, 2022
As a former college athlete, Katie Lever who is currently a doctoral candidate studying college sports, has written this insightful book as a behind the scenes expose into the struggles which affect college athletes.
The protagonist, Sis Jones, is a highly motivated and talented athlete, who, with her team mates continually juggle a college education with rigorous athletic training. Dedicated, and surrounded by equally motivated fighters, in the same position, they all are very much aware that they must do their best and push themselves to the very limits to achieve the goals set by Coach. These second-tier fighters don’t have the first-tier fighters’ luxury of wealthy parents, they rely on scholarships, a failure in the ring can result in being cut from the team, and that means the ruination of not only their athletic, but also academic career.
Sis has a good network of friends surrounding her, each battling to survive in their cutthroat world. They study together, train together and compete in the same tier, yet each has their own secret. As this fascinating story unfolds the author takes us into the hearts and souls of these young athletes, who after all are normal young people battling the day-to-day struggles all of us have, both physically and emotionally.
Yet, as the story progresses the reader discovers that the team are not the only ambitious people, Coach has his own agenda and knows each team members Achilles heel, and just how to use it to his advantage.
However, when James Merritt, the AFA (American Fighting Association) Director takes the rule book into his own hands he makes a grave mistake. Too long the underdogs, when Sis and her second-tier team members are pushed too far at Nationals, everyone discovers that united the second tier are a force to be reckoned with. Despite the potential repercussions, they decide there has finally become a time when they must bite the bullet. Truth will out! And then, readers, the repercussions begin…
This book will I am sure make fascinating reading for those considering a career in amateur fighting, and college sports. However, within its pages readers will also discover the individual characters’ stories, their secrets, dreams, ambitions and fears, and through their fortitude discover that nothing is impossible if the will is strong enough. Highly recommended.
The protagonist, Sis Jones, is a highly motivated and talented athlete, who, with her team mates continually juggle a college education with rigorous athletic training. Dedicated, and surrounded by equally motivated fighters, in the same position, they all are very much aware that they must do their best and push themselves to the very limits to achieve the goals set by Coach. These second-tier fighters don’t have the first-tier fighters’ luxury of wealthy parents, they rely on scholarships, a failure in the ring can result in being cut from the team, and that means the ruination of not only their athletic, but also academic career.
Sis has a good network of friends surrounding her, each battling to survive in their cutthroat world. They study together, train together and compete in the same tier, yet each has their own secret. As this fascinating story unfolds the author takes us into the hearts and souls of these young athletes, who after all are normal young people battling the day-to-day struggles all of us have, both physically and emotionally.
Yet, as the story progresses the reader discovers that the team are not the only ambitious people, Coach has his own agenda and knows each team members Achilles heel, and just how to use it to his advantage.
However, when James Merritt, the AFA (American Fighting Association) Director takes the rule book into his own hands he makes a grave mistake. Too long the underdogs, when Sis and her second-tier team members are pushed too far at Nationals, everyone discovers that united the second tier are a force to be reckoned with. Despite the potential repercussions, they decide there has finally become a time when they must bite the bullet. Truth will out! And then, readers, the repercussions begin…
This book will I am sure make fascinating reading for those considering a career in amateur fighting, and college sports. However, within its pages readers will also discover the individual characters’ stories, their secrets, dreams, ambitions and fears, and through their fortitude discover that nothing is impossible if the will is strong enough. Highly recommended.
February 15, 2022
Surviving the Second Tier is set in the not-so-distant future where cars are self-driving and college athletics consist of one sport: co-ed, full body contact fighting in a ring. Gone are the days of Title IX and multi-sport, women’s/men’s collegiate teams. Now, all that exists is MMA type full contact pummeling. Certain constants remain, though, such as the disparity between the high-profile fighters (the first tier) and the good athletes but non-mega stars (the second tier) who train and fight just as hard but struggle financially and lack the support of the upper echelons.
With a hard nosed coach who resorts to any manipulation that motivates his fighters to win with little regard to their mental or physical wellbeing, the story follows Sis Jones, a second-tier athlete with an undefeated record, through her senior year of competitive fighting. She faces the same struggles as good-not-great college athletes do today with stipends (aka, scholarships) that barely cover expenses and has her living at the edge of poverty. Between schoolwork, training, and fighting, she has no time for a normal life outside of her relationships with her male teammates, some which are more dysfunctional than others.
Lever’s book is dimly lit, exposing the dark side of college athletics in a made-up world. But the parallels are clear and as you read, the reality of what must surely be happening behind the scenes on college campuses today plagues your thoughts. For all the gold star athletes that go on to compete professionally, there are dozens behind them left with little more from their college athletic careers than some good memories and broken bodies. In the books brighter spaces, Lever highlights the benefits of team sports, the friendships that develop, and the collective power that exists if and when athletes come together in support of change for their sport.
In Surviving the Second Tier, the athletes’ rebellion against the greedy ways of the current system sees a return to what we currently have, multi-sport collegiate athletics. But Lever’s reversion envisions tossing out the “old rule book” and finding ways to make sports more fair, more safe and more controlled by the voices of the athletes as opposed to those of the athletic departments. It’s a call to action to fix what we currently have lest it become even more broken that it already is.
With a hard nosed coach who resorts to any manipulation that motivates his fighters to win with little regard to their mental or physical wellbeing, the story follows Sis Jones, a second-tier athlete with an undefeated record, through her senior year of competitive fighting. She faces the same struggles as good-not-great college athletes do today with stipends (aka, scholarships) that barely cover expenses and has her living at the edge of poverty. Between schoolwork, training, and fighting, she has no time for a normal life outside of her relationships with her male teammates, some which are more dysfunctional than others.
Lever’s book is dimly lit, exposing the dark side of college athletics in a made-up world. But the parallels are clear and as you read, the reality of what must surely be happening behind the scenes on college campuses today plagues your thoughts. For all the gold star athletes that go on to compete professionally, there are dozens behind them left with little more from their college athletic careers than some good memories and broken bodies. In the books brighter spaces, Lever highlights the benefits of team sports, the friendships that develop, and the collective power that exists if and when athletes come together in support of change for their sport.
In Surviving the Second Tier, the athletes’ rebellion against the greedy ways of the current system sees a return to what we currently have, multi-sport collegiate athletics. But Lever’s reversion envisions tossing out the “old rule book” and finding ways to make sports more fair, more safe and more controlled by the voices of the athletes as opposed to those of the athletic departments. It’s a call to action to fix what we currently have lest it become even more broken that it already is.
January 27, 2022
M.K. Lever’s ‘Surviving the Second Tier’ is a gripping novel about the seamy, dark side of big-time college athletics. Taking place in a distant future, not sure how distant, it is a time when all college sports have been abandoned in favor of a lucrative, truncated form of co-ed MMA fighting. Lever, an elite college athlete in her own right, skillfully brings the reader into the world of four fighters at a ‘second tier’ university, where everything is second or third class. She paints a stark picture of an abusive, exploitive, charnel house system of multi-division Fight Clubs which feeds a bloodthirsty public along with media and university bank accounts.
By using bland school names and generic conferences, like North, South, East, West, there is nothing the reader can relate to currently. Mail is delivered by drones and exercise weight machines, at the ‘first tier’ schools, are equipped with robotic arms which deftly switch out weight stacks. Shifting points of view between the main characters, led by Sis Jones, allows the reader to intimately experience and know all their motives, feelings, insecurities, fears, hopes, dreams and secrets.
Author Lever can be complimented for getting the reader emotionally hooked into each character. One ends up caring about them and this is achieved, in part, by their isolation in a generic world with fewer outside distractions. Slowly, all their personal back stories, recent and ancient, unfold along with the reasons why all other college sports were abandoned. As the team progresses into post-season tournaments, the primary governing body cynically manipulates matchups, press conferences, relationships and news coverage.
Surprising twists and turns, personal and professional, lurk around every corner as the action heats up in the final third of the book. Everyone goes through their own arc of discovery as the system grinds inexorably forward. Looking at college athletics today, M.K. Lever’s goal of highlighting the need for reform hits home with clarity and resonance. In more ways than one, we can all benefit from ‘Surviving in the Second Tier.’
Brad Butler, Author of ‘A World Flight Over Russia’
By using bland school names and generic conferences, like North, South, East, West, there is nothing the reader can relate to currently. Mail is delivered by drones and exercise weight machines, at the ‘first tier’ schools, are equipped with robotic arms which deftly switch out weight stacks. Shifting points of view between the main characters, led by Sis Jones, allows the reader to intimately experience and know all their motives, feelings, insecurities, fears, hopes, dreams and secrets.
Author Lever can be complimented for getting the reader emotionally hooked into each character. One ends up caring about them and this is achieved, in part, by their isolation in a generic world with fewer outside distractions. Slowly, all their personal back stories, recent and ancient, unfold along with the reasons why all other college sports were abandoned. As the team progresses into post-season tournaments, the primary governing body cynically manipulates matchups, press conferences, relationships and news coverage.
Surprising twists and turns, personal and professional, lurk around every corner as the action heats up in the final third of the book. Everyone goes through their own arc of discovery as the system grinds inexorably forward. Looking at college athletics today, M.K. Lever’s goal of highlighting the need for reform hits home with clarity and resonance. In more ways than one, we can all benefit from ‘Surviving in the Second Tier.’
Brad Butler, Author of ‘A World Flight Over Russia’
January 26, 2022
“Surviving the Second Tier” is an eyebrow-raising insider, futuristic look at college sports and the toll it takes on athletes. The book focuses on Sicily “Sis” Jones, an ultimate fighter at a small, second-tier school battling to defend her undefeated record. But behind the scenes, Sis is nearly starving to death from a lack of money and nursing an injured shoulder. Meanwhile, her teammates: lifelong best friend Striker, Rip and Sis’ former boyfriend, Cal, are also engaged in their own battles. And to make matters worse, they have a fanatical coach whose only focus is winning for the sake of his own career.
This dystopian novel takes us inside the world of amateur fighting, a world in which the governing body, the Amateur Fighting Association (AFA), holds the athletes up to impossible standards. In this future world and after a financial crisis, ultimate fighting becomes the only sport that is played in college. Throughout the novel, we see these athletes perpetually worked to the bone, both in the ring and in the classroom. It’s an ugly scenario, in which fans of ultimate fighting are obsessed with the blood, sweat and tears of the athletes.
In her senior year, Sis tries to maintain an undefeated record, which is highly unusual for a small, second-tier university. The narrative is compelling as we see these athletes interact and do whatever needs to be done to succeed. But when Sis is forced to fight Striker in a tournament bout, things begin to go off the rails.
This novel is a cautionary tale of the price paid by college athletes and the pressures put upon them. As the book proceeds, many questions linger, including what will become of the four main characters. It’s a riveting story that will have you on the edge of your seat and it’s an important book on the future of the college sports industry. Highly recommended.
This dystopian novel takes us inside the world of amateur fighting, a world in which the governing body, the Amateur Fighting Association (AFA), holds the athletes up to impossible standards. In this future world and after a financial crisis, ultimate fighting becomes the only sport that is played in college. Throughout the novel, we see these athletes perpetually worked to the bone, both in the ring and in the classroom. It’s an ugly scenario, in which fans of ultimate fighting are obsessed with the blood, sweat and tears of the athletes.
In her senior year, Sis tries to maintain an undefeated record, which is highly unusual for a small, second-tier university. The narrative is compelling as we see these athletes interact and do whatever needs to be done to succeed. But when Sis is forced to fight Striker in a tournament bout, things begin to go off the rails.
This novel is a cautionary tale of the price paid by college athletes and the pressures put upon them. As the book proceeds, many questions linger, including what will become of the four main characters. It’s a riveting story that will have you on the edge of your seat and it’s an important book on the future of the college sports industry. Highly recommended.
February 14, 2022
Lever’s Surviving the Second Tier is a sobering look into what it’s really like to be a college athlete in the United States of America away from the glamour of TV-made moments penned by someone who has lived that life. It provides not only a strong narrative of how the college sports industry exploits the human capital of athletes but administrators and coaches as well. Far from just a criticism of college sports, though, the novel goes to great lengths to dive into the lives of the characters and show the emotional and mental toll the strain of being a college athlete takes on not only their health but their relationships as well. You can feel Lever’s own experiences weaved through the story as it unfolds. Surviving the Second Tier is a must-read for those who work with college athletes, the families and friends of college athletes, and of course, college athletes themselves.
January 19, 2022
Lever's experience as a former athlete and a doctoral student are the perfect preparation for writing this book. She does a great job using specific details about the life of an amateur fighter to develop a compelling story about the struggles faced by many athletes to balance competitive success, financial stability, and finishing their education. Even though I am not a person who knows as much about fighting as other sports, I felt like Lever did an excellent job drawing me in as a reader throughout the novel. There is so much sports attention on revenue producing or male dominated sports, but this book demonstrates that there are interesting and engaging stories beyond football and basketball.
January 28, 2022
I am not usually a sports fiction fan. MK’s book is not just for sports fan. The ideas and themes this book addresses are important and crucial problems in the modern day sports field and MK does an amazing idea addressing these issues in a story that keeps you turning the pages to find out the next steps in Sis’s journey to the top!
January 28, 2022
This is one of my new favorite books. I read the whole thing in three days, staying up till 3am because I could not put it down. I laughed and cried, a lot. This book reminded me why I used to love reading so much. It's a cautionary tale, but is crafted in such a beautiful way.
December 8, 2021
Fantastic book.
February 17, 2022
A fascinating insight into what happens behind the scenes in the American sports industry.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews