Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler

 

Yesterday, I finished reading Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler. This sporty romance is about Amber McCloud, a cheerleader who dreams of being captain for her senior year, and Jack Walsh, the new quarterback for the Atherton Alligator football team who is actually a girl. After their previous quarterback, Robbie, died in a car accident, the football players are angry with Robbie being replaced by Jack and make life hell for her at her new school, even though she's a better QB than Robbie ever was. Meanwhile, Amber is trying to maintain a sense of unity on the cheerleading squad, which is challenging when her best friend, Cara, wants her to help them take Jack down. As Amber gets to know Jack, though, she begins to fall for her and has to make a decision between her heart and her dream.

I enjoyed this book from the very start. Not only did I love Amber and Jack because of their passion for their sports and each other, I also loved the setting of a high school in Florida because it showed how living in a conservative community causes conflict for queer teenagers. I really felt for both Amber and Jack because I wanted them to be able to be themselves and not have to hide their feelings for each other because their classmates would exclude them. I also really liked Amber's friend, Miguel, whom she was pretending to date so that their friends wouldn't become suspicious of their queerness, because he was the only player on the football team who wasn't being hostile towards Jack. I thought it was adorable when Amber and Jack went on a double date with Miguel and his boyfriend, Malcolm, to a bowling alley. It made me so mad that the football team put Robbie on a pedestal because he was a despicable human being, blackmailing Miguel when he was still alive. I also had a lot of issues with Cara because of her homophobia and internalized misogyny. At times, I wondered how Amber could still be friends with her, but the reveal of Cara's secret added some depth to her, making me understand her actions, even if I couldn't excuse them. The end of this book was absolutely spectacular because it brought me back to the excitement of football games I went to when I was in high school. Due to swearing and suggestive language, I'd recommend Home Field Advantage to teens who enjoy love stories, cheerleading, and/or football.