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. Will the Association survive the aftermath? But all bets are off when the AFA puts Sis against one of her own. 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. Fighting became the only sport, a brilliant and violent solution to the economic collapse. After a financial crisis, the AFA had to salvage its profits. It’s a new order in the world of college athletes. Topping it off is their cutthroat coach who pushes them beyond their limits for the sake of his own career. Striker fights to support his struggling family. Her teammates have their share of struggles, too. She’s living on pennies and nursing a debilitating injury. Her skills embrace reportage and enthralling prose and the result is a novel will win attention.Ī 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. 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. SURVIVING THE SECOND TIER is her debut novel. 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. (Katie) Lever is a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication, studying NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) discourse.

‘Sis Jones won’t stop chasing perfection, no matter what the personal cost may be’

Surviving The Second Tier by M.K. Lever