Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Home Field Advantage

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler

17 reviews

reading_rainbows's review

challenging

3.25

Football players and cheerleader staying closeted because their teammates are Aholes or complicit. They exclude new female QB out of spite, misogyny, homophobia while claiming they are honouring the previous QB who died while driving drunk. It was a bit depressing, but more in the way that their actions were so unreasonable they didn't seem like actual people, so how can you progress in a world with no reason.

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tinytrashqueen's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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gabstersreads's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book! It took a little bit to pick up pase but about 20% in I was hooked! The author does a really good job of writing dual perspective and both the MCs have a distinct voice.

This book does heavily center around homophobia, sexism, and bullying. At times it was difficult to read about the intense bullying Jack was facing. She faced a lot of homophobia and sexism so I would avoid this book if that triggers you.

I absolutely loved the ending and I felt it was very hopeful and satisfying while still addressing the ingrained homophobia in a conservative environment.

Highly recommend!

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brokenbodybitch's review against another edition

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4.5

Their quarterback dies in a car accident and is replaced by the new kid Jack Walsh, Jack happens to be short for Jacklyn and having a girl replace their fav QB is a huge task. Jack's team and the cheerleaders are mad and try to take her down at all costs, Amber, a cheerleader aiming for captain next year tries to calm tension, her team mates make it clear that she will lose cheer captain if she helps jack.....the problem with that Jack and Amber are falling in love.

I WISH I HAD THIS IN HIGH SCHOOL!!!! this was the sapphic cheerleader and QB romance I was dying for when I was younger and I was genuinely sad for this book to end; Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince did a fantastic job with the chemistry between the two characters and I thoroughly enjoyed how they brought them to life (I loved Natalie already). I didn't really get into any of the sports/cheer/popular kid scene in high school because of ✨bullying✨ so I was that kid who read all the books about the popular and cool kids to see what the 'ideal' high school experience is like and this was my fav trope so when I saw this on NetGalley i knew i NEEDED it. It defiantly lived up to the hype! It was fantastic writing and an adorable story.

Amber identifies as polysexual which I absolutely loved seeing a micro-label talked about, I generally really enjoyed the queer rep in this book; a line in particular I loved is when Jack talks about how amazing it was to hear Ambers mom mentioning being queer so casually. Ambers mom says something about having a bi bob and I know its a small thing but i totally would've picked up on that too, especially when i was younger seeing adults be queer casually was such a big thing and i loved that it was added in. the dynamics between Amber, Jack, and Miguel and them with their teams/other cheerleaders was also done well, although I do wish there was a bit more from the storyline between Amber and Cara(?I don't know spelling it was the audiobook), I think I would have enjoyed them discussing how Cara played into the bullying and hate the three of them faced a bit more, but it also isn't enough of a complaint for me to even think of lowering the rating.

This was such a beautiful story of queer love with the popular cheerleader and football QB trope done perfectly, and I cant recommend it more. Especially the audio book Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince crushed this!

*I received this as an audiobook arc from NetGalley, but these are my un-influenced thoughts*

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brokenbodybitch's review against another edition

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fast-paced

5.0

played into the bullying and hate the three of them faced

a bit more, but it also isn't enough of a complaint for me to even think of lowering the rating.

This was such a beautiful story of queer love with the popular cheerleader and football QB trope done perfectly, and I cant recommend it more. Especially the audio book Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince crushed this!

*I received this as an audiobook arc from NetGalley, but these are my un-influenced thoughts*

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maggie_the_ferocious_reader's review against another edition

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funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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bookstarbri's review

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hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was a cute, fun read. It was actually 5 stars for me until the second half. That was when I started feeling weird towards Amber...I felt disconnected from her at the halfway point. It was difficult to find her likable after some of her decisions (in particular to how she treated Miguel and Jack at times). She was constantly trying to get ahead and I could empathize with her reasoning, but it made reading her POVs weird. I really liked Miguel a ton. He was cool and his character development was nice. He started off as an indifferent guy to how the team treated Jack until finally being able to stand up for what was right. In the end, Amber did as well, but her way there didn't feel as complete as his.

Overall, that was my biggest issue with this book: a lot of the issues brought up just sort of resolved without really feeling like they'd earned the resolution? Jack had some pretty big challenges in her life (her family, her friends, the team, etc.) and they all sort of seem like they're fixed after the big game. Yes, there was conflict and tension throughout, but there wasn't ever a moment for me where it felt like that was truly addressed adequately. Yet, at the end, it just sort of ended and everything was fine (not perfect, but suddenly everyone became better? Suddenly people at the school were finally starting to not completely suck? And I especially didn't like how Amber’s best friend suddenly regretted everything she'd done and apologized. It came so out of nowhere. Amber did what was right in the end, but it also seemed like she sort of just changed her mind one day to get there. That said, there was a lot I loved about this book that I have to point out: Miguel and Amber's friendship was beautiful, Amber was really great in the first half and then again in the last 3 chapters, Jack's POV was always fun to be in, and the entire story's concept drew me in immediately. The writing was fun, though I could've gone without so many pop culture references and some of the slang used felt dated. But I did enjoy this as a fun read with a lot going for it. Though it lacked some things for me, I'd definitely recommend this!

Thank you to the author, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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