A review by bookedbymadeline
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? No

4.0

Quick, entertaining read! I loved the characters and the rep. Spencer has an autistic younger brother and seeing the support and love, to making accommodations for him healed a part of me 😭 I enjoyed the balance of showcasing the struggles and anxiety around being trans and coming out, while also sharing the joys of having support/a queer community around you! 

This is such a sweet sports romance and the first sports romance I’ve ever read! I loved Justice and Spencer’s chemistry as well as the found family aspect they had within the soccer team 🩷

The main conflict mentioned in the synopsis didn’t happen for a long time so my expectations were different going into the book. We don’t see the main issue arise (and ultimately resolved) until the last 100 pages so it led to feeling a bit rushed! I think it’s more accurate to say that the book is about the anxieties around coming out and adjusting to a new school in general, and not just Spencer being benched from playing.

I didn’t love how much telling over showing there was at times especially when discussing the details of the games. I’m not a sports fan and don’t understand the rules/plays so I skimmed those sections 😂 Another thing I didn’t like was it had one of my biggest pet peeves: when a book is set in one country, in this case the US, but the author and therefore characters use the UK terms-stop calling it a pitch (it’s a field) and boots (they’re cleats)?! 😐

Overall it was an enjoyable read with moments that made me smile and cry! I’d highly recommend if you’re looking for a queer sports romance or want to read more books with trans and autistic rep 🩷


TW/CW: bullying (brief references), religious bigotry, forced outing (brief mention), transphobia, homophobia, misgendering (brief mention), child death (brief), drug abuse (brief)

Rep: trans and gay MC and author, non binary side character, Biracial (black/white) MC, Black side characters, autistic side character, bi side character, gay love interest 
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