Home Field Advantage

 Home Field Advantage

Home Field Advantage is about Amber McCloud, a cheerleader for Atherton High School and a closeted lesbian, with dreams of becoming the next cheer captain. The football team’s quarterback unexpectedly dies in an accident and his death shakes the entire school. In need of a new quarterback, the coach searches around until he finds Jacquelyn (Jack) Walsh. It's controversial enough to replace their beloved quarterback, but added to that, she's the first girl quarterback in Atherton history, and people are not taking it well. In a place where she constantly feels isolated and alone, Jack finds comfort in one person: Amber. As they become closer, they slowly unwind secrets about the old quarterback and Amber’s best friend. But being with each other constantly jeopardizes what they have worked so hard to finally get. For Amber, the spot as cheer captain she has always dreamed of, and for Jack, the spot as quarterback that she never thought she'd get. It’s up to them to decide what's more important: their sports or the people who truly love them.

One important theme of Home Field Advantage is choosing the people you love over the things you love. Both the main characters struggle to look at their family and friends’ side of each of their stories, but as the book progresses, they understand that the people they love have a lot more to give to them than they ever gave them credit for. Another theme is not always seeing eye to eye with people you care about, but still being there for them. Atherton High School is a very homophobic and misogynistic place, so Amber can’t share much of her personal life with even her closest friends, but Amber still cares about them nevertheless. They are still important people in her life, despite knowing that revealing her true self could cost her many friendships. This book normalizes unusual and complicated friendships and shows how hard it can be to be around someone who doesn’t understand you.

I think this was a great book. The writing was very informal and funny, so it made it easier to empathize with the characters and get into the book. Also, the book was written from both Amber and Jack’s perspective, so you were able to see both sides of the story and it gave the story more perspective. I think most romance books are really cliche, and this is no exception, but I think the author put a nice spin on this and made it feel like you were a part of their world with her descriptions of scenery and people and her snarky jokes. Overall, I definitely recommend it, especially if you want a book with a happy ending.

-Praachi