Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler: Book Review

Home Field Advantage is the latest release from Dahlia Adler. Due out June 7, 2022, Home Field Advantage is a YA contemporary romance. It introduces readers to Jack Walsh and Amber McCloud, two high school juniors who find themselves falling for each other. Jack is the new quarterback at the school and one everyone seems to dislike. Amber is a cheerleader and tries to keep the peace among the team.

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Home Field Advantage. All opinions presented here are solely mine.

Synopsis from Goodreads

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 your team’s quarterback has been killed in a car accident. Watching Robbie get replaced by newcomer Jack Walsh for both the team and the squad 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.

Positives

The story is told from a dual perspective. It is easy to follow who the narrator is as each switch is labeled as either Amber or Jack.

The book is a short, roughly three to four week, glimpse into a Florida high school.

Negatives

I understand Amber’s hesitance to out herself as queer. But I find it hard to believe in 2022 that, so many students would shun her for being part of the LGBTQ community. Maybe that is just my ignorance showing.

My Opinion

Home Field Advantage is a YA contemporary sapphic romance. There is a twist of fake dating, but not quite in the way, one might expect. The book’s focus is on Jack and Amber, but some of the other relationships are more interesting. I found myself cheering more for Miguel and Malcolm than I did for Jack and Amber. While Jack and Amber were following the “stereotype” of quarterback and cheerleader, it felt too rushed and disjointed.

As for the way Jack is treated by the team, being a girl in a “boy’s” world, I understand that and feel it was well written. Being the first girl to play football in a high school’s history isn’t easy. There is bound to be teasing from the guys on the team and challenges to determine your suitability. Schoolmates are either going to be on your side or not. Of course, stepping into the shoes of the former star player who passed away in the spring wouldn’t be easy for anyone. Add to it that her family made enormous sacrifices for her, and Jack was not in a comfortable position.

I know that I am not the target audience for this book, as I have been out of high school for a while now. But I have experience playing high school sports and thought I would give this a try. Overall, I found this to be an okay read. The beginning is a bit slow, but the pacing picks up the further you go.

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.