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A review by poorsapadvocate
Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Urgh...teenagers.
This book presents itself as a fluffy YA romcom, but it really reads more like a New Adult teen drama. It can be fluffy, it can be romantic, it certainly isn't a tragedy, but man...teenagers. This is the most accurate depiction of dumb highschoolers I have ever read, and I mean that both positively for the author and negatively for teenagers as a class. So much of this book is just both the football team and the cheerleaders repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot to spite their face. And Jack really doesn't deserve that! Jack is precious and must be protected (she can protect herself, but point stands)! I read this book rather quickly because I was just waiting for just one moment when everyone would just get their heads out of their butts and help one another. And there is some comeuppance towards the end, but it is too little too late. It especially sucks that the adults don't get involved. I get that there are probably some genre conventions that adults can't solve every problem or else what's the point of a teen story, but these adults are exceedingly useless. You would think that at least Amber's cool bisexual mom would know about Title IX. There is also a huge twist towards the end that I won't spoil, but it immediately makes this story brush up against an actual tragedy. Seriously: if you have common triggers, look into it before reading. I hate being negative on them kids these days, but we never see any other group of teenagers besides the football team that outwardly bullies Jack and the cheerleaders who go out of their way to make Jack not feel welcome. I don't think any other club or "clique" on campus would have been as hostile towards a girl playing sports. I could even see the other teams like volleyball and basketball going out of their way to help one of their own, and seeing some support anywhere would have really helped brighten the mood of this book. The "point" of school sports is supposed to teach us how to work together, right?
But if you're really in the mood for a relatively-light sports story, I do think there are things to enjoy about this book. I really like Jack. I think if the book had been more focused on her having to get the teams to accept her so they're all working together by Homecoming instead of against each other, it would have been better off. Amber does do some awful things in the book, but as someone who has been a part of both a toxic friend group and a toxic team where I was fighting for seniority, I see where she's coming from in both trying to salvage said friends but also do the right thing. And the chemistry between the two is very cute and believable. I have never seen flirting depicted so well in fiction before. Do what I do at any sporting event and read this book when there isn't action on the field.
This book presents itself as a fluffy YA romcom, but it really reads more like a New Adult teen drama. It can be fluffy, it can be romantic, it certainly isn't a tragedy, but man...teenagers. This is the most accurate depiction of dumb highschoolers I have ever read, and I mean that both positively for the author and negatively for teenagers as a class. So much of this book is just both the football team and the cheerleaders repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot to spite their face. And Jack really doesn't deserve that! Jack is precious and must be protected (she can protect herself, but point stands)! I read this book rather quickly because I was just waiting for just one moment when everyone would just get their heads out of their butts and help one another. And there is some comeuppance towards the end, but it is too little too late. It especially sucks that the adults don't get involved. I get that there are probably some genre conventions that adults can't solve every problem or else what's the point of a teen story, but these adults are exceedingly useless. You would think that at least Amber's cool bisexual mom would know about Title IX. There is also a huge twist towards the end that I won't spoil, but it immediately makes this story brush up against an actual tragedy. Seriously: if you have common triggers, look into it before reading. I hate being negative on them kids these days, but we never see any other group of teenagers besides the football team that outwardly bullies Jack and the cheerleaders who go out of their way to make Jack not feel welcome. I don't think any other club or "clique" on campus would have been as hostile towards a girl playing sports. I could even see the other teams like volleyball and basketball going out of their way to help one of their own, and seeing some support anywhere would have really helped brighten the mood of this book. The "point" of school sports is supposed to teach us how to work together, right?
But if you're really in the mood for a relatively-light sports story, I do think there are things to enjoy about this book. I really like Jack. I think if the book had been more focused on her having to get the teams to accept her so they're all working together by Homecoming instead of against each other, it would have been better off. Amber does do some awful things in the book, but as someone who has been a part of both a toxic friend group and a toxic team where I was fighting for seniority, I see where she's coming from in both trying to salvage said friends but also do the right thing. And the chemistry between the two is very cute and believable. I have never seen flirting depicted so well in fiction before. Do what I do at any sporting event and read this book when there isn't action on the field.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, and Homophobia
Minor: Car accident, Abortion, Miscarriage, Child death, and Death