The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

by Gabrielle Zevin

Rosie is a former college hurdles champion, and she likes to read sports history and particularly athletes’ memoirs. On their third date, she’s in the middle of describing a dramatic section from Jose Canseco’s Juiced when A.J. interrupts her, “You know they’re all ghostwritten?” Rosie says she knows and she doesn’t care. “These high-performance individuals have been busy training and practicing. When did they have time to learn to write books?” “But these books . . . My point is, they’re essentially lies.” Rosie cocks her head toward A.J. and taps her flame nails on the table. “You’re a snob, you know that? Makes you miss out on a lot.” “I’ve been told that before.” “All of life’s in a sports memoir,” she says. “You practice hard and you succeed, but eventually your body gives out and it’s over.”