Best teen water sports books according to redditors

1. Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher -- or really, almost anything by him. Good, rich characters, facing adversity. He was a family therapist and his writing feels authentic while touching on real issues.
   
   
2. Though everyone talks (rightfully) about The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (bonus: movie coming out, starring the girl from Divergent), Paper Towns is pretty phenomenal, well developed, current, etc. For new fiction, John Green is doing about as good a job as anyone managing the YA / Adult transition, introducing tough topics with good - not intimidating - writing.
   
   
3. Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen is short but an amazing look at war from a young kid's perspective. A good compliment to all those fluffy (though enjoyable) we will win the war if i find my boyfriend! books that are so popular....
   
   
4. Also,The Book Thief by Zusak. Because.... for just about every reason.
   
   
5. If you think you are going to have a hard time un-sticking from the fantasy thing - The Night Circus is a creative alternative with better writing than the others.
   
   
6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime shifted my perspective through shifting the voice -- the main character is autistic. Having this sort of unique narrator was a first & helped teach me about the role of voice (helpful, when your favorite author winds up being Faulkner...)
   
   Of course there are others (non fiction: Krakauer, Hillenbrand, come to mind; deeper: Tim O'Brien, Saramago; more fantastic: Guy Kay, Herbert, etc. ) but, trying to stay within age range / contemporary, and gender neutral... that's where I started! if any of these seem like the right thread, let me know, and i can give you a bucket more.

This is a fun, light-reading, surfing-related YA trilogy.

Would good biographies of wrestlers, surfers, or rappers be of interest?

Swim the Fly and its sequels. They are absolutely awesome.