A review by betweentheshelves
Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin

emotional hopeful 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

4.0

 Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for an advanced copy of this to review! This was an anticipated release for me, and I’m happy to say it lived up to my expectations! If you’re looking for queer sports books, definitely pick this one up this fall.

One of the strongest aspects of this book is Mara’s journey to unlearn the misogyny that she’s internalized her entire life. At the beginning, she’s so against being “one of the girls” because she doesn’t feel like she fits in. Throughout, she learns that being a girl isn’t always a bad thing, and the little group of friends she makes is fantastic. I loved each one of them. Their dynamic in the book, both on and off the football field, works so well.

Another thing I enjoyed was the subtle nature of the romance. While I didn’t always get the chemistry between Mara and her love interest, I did enjoy that the romance didn’t necessarily take a front seat to everything else that was going on. Also, some of the boys on the football team are awful. Parts of their interactions were hard to read, just because you know this happens in real life.

Overall, this will be a great book to pick up going into football season, even if you don’t know that much about football. Mara is a great character, and her journey is one I think a lot of girls will relate to. 
------
Overall, this book was really engaging and tackles the issues of internalized misogyny with grace. More to come in a review on Thursday!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings