52 pages • 1 hour read
Ana HuangThe Striker
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Authorial Context: Ana Huang
Ana Huang is a Chinese American author who specializes in New Adult fiction and contemporary romance novels. Huang earned her undergraduate degree in international relations, after which she worked with a geopolitical consulting agency doing press relations work. Amidst the 2019 COVID pandemic, she revived her childhood dreams of becoming a writer. Growing up, Huang’s mother encouraged her to write stories. She finished her first novel at 15 and uploaded it on Wattpad when she was 18. In the years since 2019, Huang has gone on to publish an array of romance and adult fiction titles. She began by self-publishing her work, and after her titles went viral on TikTok, the books in her Twisted Series were republished by Bloom Books in 2022.
Since launching her authorial career, Huang has become “a #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, #1 Sunday Times, and #1 Amazon bestselling author” (“About Ana.” Ana Huang). Her titles include the If Love Series—If We Ever Meet Again, If the Sun Never Sets, If Love Had a Price, and If We Were Perfect—the Twisted Series—Twisted Love, Twisted Games, Twisted Hate, and Twisted Lies—the Kings of Sin Series—King of Wrath, King of Pride, King of Greed, King of Sloth, King of Envy, King of Gluttony, and King of Lust—and the Gods of the Game Series—The Striker and The Defender. All of her novels feature “deliciously alpha heroes, strong heroines, and plenty of steam, angst, and swoon” (“About Ana”).
Huang was also featured in Cosmopolitan in 2022, and in Elle Magazine and on Good Morning America in 2023. As of 2024, she has sold over one million print copies of her books and was named the fourth highest grossing BookTok famous author worldwide. Her titles are ideal for fans of Meagan Brandy’s Say You Swear, Tessa Bailey’s Fangirl Down, Liz Tomforde’s Mile High, and Meghan Quinn’s So This Is War.
Genre Context: Contemporary Sports Romance
The Striker is a contemporary romance novel that falls into the subgenre of sports romance, which includes popular titles like Chloe Walsh’s Boys of Tommen series (each of which follows the love life of a different member of an Irish high-school football team), Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series (centering a college ice hockey team), and Liz Tomforde’s Windy City series (centering a professional ice hockey team in Chicago). As is characteristic of the romance genre, The Striker takes its primary conflicts from the fast-paced, high-pressure world of competitive professional sports. The male protagonist Asher Donovan is engrossed in England’s Premier Football League, while the female protagonist Scarlett DuBois is a member of the Royal Academy of Ballet (RAB). These athletic arenas pressurize the protagonists’ individual realities while creating tension in their familial, professional, and personal lives.
Per the conventions of the overarching contemporary romance tradition, Huang’s novel relies on romance tropes to shape its primary plot line and trajectory. In particular, The Striker uses the forced proximity and forbidden romance tropes to drive its primary characters together. Asher and Scarlett are forced to spend time together when Asher’s coach, Frank Armstrong, demands that he “cross-[train] at the Royal Academy of Ballet” during his offseason (7). He’s forced to “tak[e] private lessons” with Scarlett for the entire summer—an arrangement that compels the characters into the same space for a protracted, nonnegotiable bout of time (7). Despite Asher and Scarlett’s immediate attraction to each other, they’re not allowed to pursue a relationship, because Scarlett’s brother Vincent DuBois hates Asher and forbids them to be together. The protagonists end up engaging in a secret affair despite the associated risks. As is true of all romance tropes, Huang’s forbidden romance and forced proximity tropes establish a connection between the romantic leads while adding tension and keeping readers invested in the narrative.
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