Home Field Advantage
Home Field Advantage book cover

Home Field Advantage

Hardcover – Box set, June 7, 2022

by
Price
$14.99
Format
Hardcover
Pages
304
Publisher
Wednesday Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1250765840
Dimensions
5.8 x 1 x 8.55 inches
Weight
13 ounces

Description

From School Library Journal Gr 10 Up-Nothing can stand in Amber McCloud's way as she works toward becoming cheer captain; nothing, that is, except for an intriguing new quarterback named Jack Walsh. And when Jack turns out to be short for Jaclyn, things are even more complicated for the queer but closeted Amber, who finds herself attracted to Jack. Jack is struggling to find acceptance with her new teammates, who seem determined to hate her for replacing their previous quarterback. Jack and Amber must work together to unify everyone while facing bigotry and defining their romantic interest in one another. This is a well-written story with solid pacing, believable characters, and relatable issues. Discussion of LGBTQIA+ identity is realistic and appropriately handled, as is how the characters deal with and confront homophobia and misogyny. The evolution of lifelong friendships is sensitively explored, as is the expression of identity in a repressed setting. Lead characters are white, with some secondary characters who are Black and Latinx. There is proliferate use of curse words throughout, including gender- and sexual-based name-calling; while the use of profanity is realistic for the teen experience, the constant usage distracts from the plot. Also present is appropriate representation of and discussion of teen experiences relating to sexuality, including abortion. VERDICT A recommended purchase for all school or public libraries catering to older teens.-Christine Caseα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Praise for Home Field Advantage : A Summer 2022 Kids’ Indie Next Pick A Rainbow Book List Pick One of YALSA's 2023 Best Fiction for Young AdultsOne of Buzzfeed's Best Young Adult Books of 2022 Book Riot , " 22 Great New Books To Read in 2022", "Heartwarming Queer YA Books Like Netflix’s Heartstopper", "40 of the Best Summer Reads for 2022", and "3 Heartwarming Queer YA Releases to Read During Pride" Bookish , "June’s Most-Anticipated Books" Bookstr, "13 LGBTQIA+ Romance Coming Out This June" Buzzfeed , "40 More Highly Anticipated YA Books Coming Out In 2022" Epic Reads, "The 21 Most Anticipated YA Books to Read in June" Frolic, "Our Top 10 YA Reads for June" Geek Girl Authority, "17 New LGBTQIA+ Books You Should Read for Pride" Goodreads , "The 68 Most Anticipated YA Novels of 2022", "The Can't-Hardly-Wait Young Adult Books of June", "Dive Into Summer’s Biggest Young Adult Romance Novels” GO Magazine , "Slide Into Spring And Summer With These Fabulously Gay Reads" Nerd Daily , "Must-Have 2022 Queer Book Releases" NBC News , " 20 best kids and young adult books by LGBTQ+ authors in 2022" The Honey POP , "Sweet Reads: June Reads for Summer Vacation" Business Insider , "20 of the most anticipated young adult books coming out this spring" Autostraddle , "Eight Romance Books Featuring Butches, Studs, and Masc of Center Characters" United By Pop , "Exciting New YA Reads For June 2022""Adler’s magnificent new romance is a glorious touchdown of a book." - Buzzfeed , "44 New LGBTQA+ YA Novels You Need This Spring" "This YA contemporary romance has not only a sweet sapphic love story but juicy narratives about football and cheerleading." - Autostraddle "Bubbly cheerleader Amber McCloud falls for star quarterback Jaclyn “Jack” Walsh in Adler’s winning queer take on the classic meet-cute." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A swoonworthy romance about breaking the glass ceiling and being true to yourself, Adler’s Home Field Advantage is a fun, queer twist on the quarterback/cheerleader trope that will suck you in from the very first page." - The Nerd Daily "Readers hungry for more sapphic love stories will give this fully fleshed sports-centric romance full marks." - Booklist "Adler keeps the pages turning with well-mapped tension and compelling characters, using clichés to her advantage as she builds an appealing and heartfelt romance...Bubbly but not naïve: a worthy rendition of a classic high school story." - Kirkus Reviews "Adler’s full-hearted latest shines as bright as stadium lights on a Friday night." - Electric Literature , "The Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books for Summer 2022" “A combination of sizzling chemistry and heartfelt vulnerability makes the star-crossed romance between Amber and Jack irresistible. Home Field Advantage insists that women belong on the field--as cheerleaders whose athleticism should receive the recognition it deserves and as players granted the same opportunities as their male peers. Teen readers will applaud Amber and Jack's fight to be their authentic selves.” - Shelf Awareness "Adler's sapphic YA romance is an absolute delight. It's a heartfelt story layered with the thoughtful complexity of embracing your sexual identity and will have you rooting for both of these ambitious teens." - Buzzfeed , "The Best Young Adult Books of 2022" "I adored Amber and Jack and I loved their perfect high school romance." - The Southern Bookseller Review "A perfect summer read." - The Buffalo News " This was such a readable, engrossing book...Dahlia Adler continues to be a queer YA author you just can’t miss." - The Lesbrary "A bubbly LGBTQ romance that puts a fresh new twist on the age-old relationship trope of the high school football quarterback and the team cheer captain." - Paste Magazine , " The Best New YA Books of June 2022" "J-A-C-K, I’m Team Jack all the way! Seriously though, Dahlia Adler’s newest book, Home Field Advantage , is going to be an instant favorite. It’s like your favorite pair of well-worn jeans, the biggest bowl of mac-n-cheese, or the snuggliest sweater on a warm night. It’s the book you’re going to read again and again when you desperately need a dose of big queer butterflies in the stomach. It’s pure romantic gold with perfect girl loves girl attraction. Read it. Repeatedly." - Jaye Robin Brown, author of The Key to You and Me “My expectations were high, and Dahlia still managed to exceed them. She completely captures the struggle of finding out who you are during those chaotic teen years with heart and humor. I was cheering for Amber and Jack for every single page!” - Chelsea Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Next Door " Home Field Advantage has it all. A swoony romance, characters you will be cheering for from start to finish, and a plot that sucks you in from the very first page. An instant favorite, perfectly capturing the power in being true to yourself and fighting for what is right." - Rachael Lippincott, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Five Feet Apart and She Gets the Girl "Cinematic, swoonworthy, and full of queer solidarity that will have you cheering. Amber and Jack's chemistry leaps off the page. Adler has long been one of the key players in YA LGBTQ, but she has truly outdone herself here." - Kelly Quindlen, bestselling author of She Drives Me Crazy "Dahlia Adler's Home Field Advantage will break your heart and then bind it back together with turf tape. Both the swooniest of romances and a heartfelt story navigating the things we're passionate about and the people we're passionate about - and how sometimes what seem like hard choices between the two end up not being a choice at all. This book will make you cheer." - Lev Rosen, author of Camp "Dahlia Adler should be a household name. With a fairy tale ending for girls who like girls, Home Field Advantage is a swoony sapphic version of the teenage romcoms I grew up on. This book is an instant-classic." - Meryl Wilsner, author of Something to Talk About and Mistakes Were Made "A well-written story with solid pacing, believable characters, and relatable issues." - School Library Journal Praise for Cool for the Summer: "A delightful, lighthearted romantic comedy." - The Seattle Times "Witty, wise, and disarmingly tender. I am hopelessly devoted to this summer dream of a book." - Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda "Adler's heartfelt contemporary romance is as bright and sweet as its cover and poignantly explores queer identity and self-discovery." - Buzzfeed "[S]trung through with humor, warmth, and sensuality, this romance will speak to any reader who has ever struggled to know their own heart." - Booklist (starred review) "Readers who enjoy romance will be delightfully surprised with this book that will take them a bit deeper on the road of self-discovery through high school crushes." - School Library Journal "The thoughtful representation of a questioning teen's struggle to understand herself...is sorely needed. A welcome addition to the small but growing canon of questioning queer fiction." - Kirkus "Writxadten in a clear, accesxadsixadble style, this book tells the comxadpelling and sweet stoxadry of one girl’s jourxadney of self-discovery." - Jewish Book Council "There are so many more reasons to pick up this YA romance... Cool for the Summer is the perfect addition to your LGBTQ+ YA reading list." - Shondaland DAHLIA ADLER is an editor by day, a freelance writer by night, and a Young Adult author at every spare moment in between. She is the founder of LGBTQReads, editor of several anthologies, and author of many novels, including Cool for the Summer and Home Field Advantage. She lives in New York with her family and an obscene number of books. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • "
  • Home Field Advantage
  • has it all. A swoony romance, characters you will be cheering for from start to finish, and a plot that sucks you in from the very first page. An instant favorite, perfectly capturing the power in being true to yourself and fighting for what is right." - Rachael Lippincott, #1
  • New York Times
  • bestselling coauthor of
  • Five Feet Apart
  • and
  • She Gets the Girl
  • Amber McCloud’s dream is to become cheer captain at the end of the year, but it’s an extra-tall order to be joyful and spirited when the quarterback of your team has been killed in a car accident. For both the team and the squad, watching Robbie get replaced by newcomer Jack Walsh is brutal. And when it turns out Jack is actually short for Jaclyn, all hell breaks loose.The players refuse to be led by a girl, the cheerleaders are mad about the changes to their traditions, and the fact that Robbie’s been not only replaced but outshined by a QB who wears a sports bra has more than a few Atherton Alligators in a rage. Amber tries for some semblance of unity, but it quickly becomes clear that she's only got a future on the squad and with her friends if she helps them take Jack down.Just one problem: Amber and Jack are falling for each other, and if Amber can't stand up for Jack and figure out how to get everyone to fall in line, her dream may come at the cost of her heart.Dahlia Adler's
  • Home Field Advantage
  • is a sparkling romance about fighting for what - or who - you truly want.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(143)
★★★★
25%
(120)
★★★
15%
(72)
★★
7%
(33)
★
23%
(110)

Most Helpful Reviews

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So Cute!

Home Field Advantage is a quick, easy read with a sweet high school romance between a female quarterback (Jack) and a cheerleader (Amber), so basically the book we’ve all been waiting for. Jack is a fantastic character and I hated how she was treated most of the book by her male teammates. Spoiler, but she gets hers in the end. Being from a small southern town, I related to Amber, who would do whatever it takes to make cheer captain to help with her college applications so she can leave her small town to fully become herself. I will note, there are homephobic slurs and misogyny, but overall, it’s a lighthearted read with a HEA.
2 people found this helpful
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Entertaining!

Cheerleading was Amber’s life since she was a young girl. Now a junior, she had plans of becoming the captain next year. But she had to prove her leadership abilities this year. However, all her straight forward plans were diverted by the arrival of the new quarterback, a female. Jack was the unexpected and unwanted addition to this football team. Everyone thought that her arrival, and excellent playing skills, would tarnish the memory of their recently deceased quarterback. Word spread that Jack was to be treated as an outcast by the football players and cheerleaders. Amber, however, in a fake relationship with her gay football player friend, found Jack too attracted to ignore. So she didn’t, but much to the disappointment of Jack, Amber still needed to secure the secrecy of their relationship in order to keep her cheerleader plans in place

This storyline was interesting with many diverse characters. They dealt with homophobia, blackmail, misogyny, strict religious upbringing and its consequences, and drinking and driving. So there was a lot going on in this story. The coming out storyline was a bit different since the families knew but not the friends. Amber and Miguel thought they needed to hide who they were in order to fit in with the rest of team. However, when they both found people they cared about, they struggled to stay committed to the rules they placed for each other in order to keep their future plans in place.

I thought the emotional struggle behind the coming out process was well written. Amber and Miguel were afraid of their peers reactions and how it would disrupt their school life. Jack was not in the closet, and she didn’t hide who she was. Her emotional struggles came with the highs and lows of not only being the unwanted and mistreated quarterback, but a sense of aloneness surrounding her in her personal life. This was the character that I felt was presented one way, but as the story developed, Jack’s mask of strength slowly uncovered a vulnerable teenager just wanting a chance to prove her worth as a quarterback -who just happened to be female.

Overall, this was a good read, but I felt the ending was a bit rushed and not all questions were answered. There were also some angst moments that felt a bit repetitious. Other than that, I think its targeted audience will find it entertaining and some aspects very relatable.
1 people found this helpful
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SAPPHIC ROMANCE READ!

A new quarterback, a in the closet cheerleader, and one hell of a football season. Amber McCloud’s dream is to become cheer captain, she loves her team, she dreams about getting the scholarship, and she’s keeping a deep dark secrets, she’s fake dating her best friend Miguel on the football team because she is queer and he is gay. When the school gets a new quarterback, its not who any of them expected, cue Jaclyn “Jack” Walsh, a female quarterback who will be taking the place of the former quarterback Robbie who had died in a drunken car crash. The one big secret about Rob? He was blackmailing Miguel and threatening to out him. Everyone is out of sorts with Jack, Jack’s new team hates her, everyone treats her like an outsider except for Amber who is crushing on her, and she’s had to give up her old life and friends in order to play football at this new school. For Jack, football is her dream, it’s her life. So when the team shuns her, tries to sabotage her, despite her being the only reason they are finally winning games, it soon starts to grate at her nerves. Jack and Amber start to fall for one another but will their relationship survive the homophobic and misogynistic treatment the school is giving Jack, will Amber keep her secrets or will she be brave enough to finally stand up for something she loves and finally take a risk. This is a story about courage, about standing up for what you think is right and about fighting against people who think that just because you are different doesn’t make you amazing. I adored Jack, and I loved Malcolm (Miguel’s bf) and I love the character growth both Amber and Miguel go through, they are both conditioned in a society where its hard to be true to yourself where its hard to be queer and different and finding the courage to stand up for themselves and for other queer individuals was amazing. I truly loved the relationship and romance between Amber and Jack, sure it was fast but it was sweet and they struggled a lot but in the end they both worked out beautifully. READ THIS BOOK PLEASE!!!
1 people found this helpful
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must read

Amber McCloud needs her junior year of cheerleading to go well if she has any hopes of being named cheer captain her senior year and possibly earning a scholarship to FSU, so she can escape the small conservative town of Atherton, Florida and be "out" and proud. Hiding who she is not easy, but it is a necessity if she wants to achieve her goals, especially as her best friend and fellow cheerleader, Cara, is the daughter of a preacher who is definitely not LGBTQ+ friendly, and Cara and many of their fellow students have similar closed-minded beliefs. Amber's efforts to hide who she is are aided by her fake romance with football player, Miguel Santiago, who is gay and who also feels necessary to hide his true identity.

Jack (Jaclyn) Walsh just wants to play football. She fell in love with the game as a young child and for much of her childhood, there was no problem with her being a female quarterback -- kids just wanted a chance to play and the summer football camps were open to anyone because it meant more funding. However, a girl playing high school football is a rarity, especially as quarterback, and female collegiate players are practically non-existent. Jack knows that playing on a high school team is likely her final opportunity, so when, at summer football camp, she is unofficially "recruited" to be the quarterback at Atherton High, she convinces her family to make the necessary sacrifices, and her and her mother move to Atherton.

Being quarterback at Atherton was never going to be easy. The previous quarterback, Robbie, died in a drunk driving accident last spring, and while he was not a star, he was definitely better than the team's backup quarterbacks, and due to his tragic death, he is remembered as a saint. Anyone replacing him was going to have a difficult time, constantly battling his memory. However, having the replacement be a girl is a nightmare, which is why the coach waited until the last possible opportunity to introduce Jack to the team.

Both the football team and the cheerleaders immediately are opposed to Jack's presence on the team, despite the fact that she is quite good and gives the team a chance to actually have a winning season, and many of them are actively rude or cruel to her; the rest of the student body is not much better, and the football coach pretty much reserves any praise for occasions when the other players cannot overhear him. The only person who is marginally friendly to Jack is Amber. That is both good and bad, because it does not take them long to realize that they are interested in each other romantically and that the feeling is mutual, although for a while Jack is confused about Amber because of the Amber-Miguel (fake) romance.

The story focuses on Amber's efforts to walk the fine line between being supportive of Jack (and eventually pursuing a secret relationship with her) while not being too open about her support and going along with the Robbie hero worship (though she has very good reasons, which she cannot share, for having a very negative opinion of Robbie), so she can protect both her and Miguel's secrets and so she can position herself to be chosen as cheer captain next year. The story also focuses on Jack's efforts to pursue her dream and make all the sacrifices she had to make worthwhile, while dealing with the lack of support and acceptance by the team and the school. Even helping them win games is not enough to get the team to accept her. However, as the mistreatment of Jack increases, and as Amber's feelings for Jack increase, Amber starts to question what she truly cares about and who she truly wants to be. Miguel is also starting to question whether he should continue hiding his identity. He would really like to be open about his boyfriend, Malcolm. When being part of the football team was something enjoyable, it was easier to justify hiding his true self; however, the football team's treatment of Jack has made the team experience much less enjoyable.

Will Amber choose the quarterback over the cheerleading team? Will Miguel choose his boyfriend over the football team? Will Jack ever get accepted by the team or will the pressure force her to give up? How much are they willing to give up (especially Amber)? How low will things get before they improve? You will have to read the story to find out. However, I think you will be pleased at how the story turns out.

"Home Field Advantage" has some tough moments, especially if you are LGBTQ+ and you have to read about mistreatment and discrimination that you may have faced yourself, but it also has some rather humorous moments and some very heartwarming and inspirational moments. The book is a definite "must read" if you like young adult novels with a "queer" theme.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
1 people found this helpful
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light queer YA romance

This was such a quick, light YA romance! I was so excited about it specifically because it's a sapphic love story between a cheerleader and the new girl QB!

I think this will be really great for it's intended audience but missed the mark for me as someone who's not exactly YA age anymore lol. I think this is such a great read and has great rep for younger people and students!

I think everything happened a little to quickly and issues were touched on too lightly for this to have been a really great read. It is only 300 pages so there wasn't much time to explore the myriad issues brought up by the author. I don't think any of it was handled badly but I would have loved more time for Amber to figure out her relationship with her homophobic best friend and have more of a confrontation with her. I would have liked a little more build up in her relationship with Jack. Just a little MORE to all the relationships in general. I felt like I was given a summary of an actual story.

I did love some of this though. I loved Miguel and Amber's friendship. I loved the queer solidarity, queer mom (we love queer adults in YA!), discussions of the spectrum of sexuality, calling out people for their wrongs even as the "good" characters, non-binary and ace side characters.

I would recommend this book to those that enjoy sports romances or light YA reads!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!
1 people found this helpful
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sweet romance with heavy themes

“Home Field Advantage” by Dahlia Adler was not exactly what I was expecting when I opened my kindle. Going by the blurb and cover I thought this was going to be a cute and lighthearted sports rom-com. I was wrong. While there are definitely some cute and lighthearted scenes, this is a lot heavier for the most part.

Jack Walsh has just been recruited as the starting quarterback for a new high school. Unluckily for her, the former quarterback was killed in a drunk driving accident and was well loved so she’s not exactly welcomed with open arms. The team and student body is even more upset when Jack turns out to be short for Jaclyn and is in fact female.

Amber McCloud is a cheerleader that is hoping to be voted captain for her senior year. She knows she needs to show her leadership skills to the squad but finds it difficult when the squad comes together to try and get rid of Jack. Amber has also been hiding the fact that she’s bisexual and finds it harder to do what’s expected of her when she meets Jack.

I liked both Jack and Amber and how flawed they were. They made for interesting characters and I thought a lot of their romance was really sweet and cute. They’re both dealing with homophobia and misogyny and it was realistic how they each reacted in such different ways to those things. I was also a big fan of the sports side because there’s not a whole lot of the actual sport. Hah! I can be a bit leery of reading sport romances because I’m not a big fan of sports but it wasn’t a problem for me at all this time.

Speaking of homophobia and misogyny, this book is filled with it. And it is the reason I said this book is lot heavier than I was expecting. Almost every page has some form of one or the other or both if you’re lucky. It becomes a lot and I actually had to take a break from it while reading. It’s still a good read but it does become overwhelming (at least for me) in some parts.

While I mostly enjoyed this and do recommend it, beware that there’s a lot of misogyny and homophobia you’ll be dealing with.

I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
1 people found this helpful
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Fun, Engaging & Delightful

I don’t remember the last time a book grabbed me so hard and fast. I’m pissed i read it too quickly. This was just a delightfully fun read. I don’t read a lot of YA/Romance but i’ll be tracking down more of this writers stuff
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Cute YA sports romance

I have probably never read a sports romance before, so I really didn't know what to expect, but this was SO CUTE! The plot, characters, and writing all hit the right note, and for a YA romance I thought the length was just right. If you like YA romances, even if you haven't tried a sports romance yet, I think this is a cute read.
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So sweet

This was so cute!! After hearing that Dahlia Adler based Home Field Advantage around the iconic queer cheerleader/football player photo that we know and love, I knew I had to pick this one up. Jack and Amber are really lovely, tender, and real characters that emulate all those insecurities about queerness and fitting it and being a part of a larger community that my high school self can relate to. This was a quick read that left me fulfilled, and while I was very nervous that this story was going to do the whole thing where it replaces lesbian with gay, I was pleasantly surprised with how identity was described. Definitely check this one out if you're looking for more cute romance after Kelly Quindlen's She Drives Me Crazy!
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romcom

I got this book though Netgalley for a honest review, but I did buy the audiobook though Libro FM and this book just melted my heart. If you want a lgbtq+ romcom type book this is it for sure I love this book and yes some people got me pissed off I will say there Some homophobia in this book so if that a trigger for you maybe say away, but this book I have no words for it. Five stars just five stars.

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