This probably isn't the book for me. I'm not big into the athlete life, so this probably wasn't the right topic choice. I struggle with Jack, and I find her to be a little too whiney and then later in the final moments its mostly all down to her. But it's different from other books and maybe this will hit home better for someone else. It's cute and very YA and that's not a bad thing. For the audiobook, I wasn't really big on how Jack's voice was portrayed even though I like both narrators. ( )

A fun tropey, high school romance that subverts expectations of a traditional cheerleader and football player love story. ( )

A very positive and assertive addition to YA lesbian romance. This goes beyond simply being the story of two girls who are attracted to each other. It also addresses homophobia in sports, religious intolerance, faux relationships to keep other teens off two of the characters' backs, gutless coaches, and the lengths a determined athlete must go to in order to follow a dream. Jack is a terrific character, Amber almost as much, save for her fear of losing her dream. This is definitely a book worth having in most school and public libraries. ( )

Home Field Advantage is cute. Can't say much more about it. Jaclyn (Jack) Walsh is the new quarterback, taking over for the idolized Robbie, who was actually a douchebag. Of course the team hates her because of Robbie's stellar reputation, even though he wasn't a great quarterback, and Jack is a great quarterback.

The cheer team is no better when it comes to Jack but Amber, who is bucking for cheer captain next year, thinks is she can get the teams to accept Jack she'll show leadership and win the title.

However, along the way, Jack and Amber fall for each other. There is some conflict but it is cursory and the ending is pat.

Go for Cool for the Summer is you want a better Dahlia Adler book. ( )

At first glance, Home Field Advantage is the age-old love story of a high school cheerleader and the football quarterback...except it's sapphic! Jack, the football team's new quarterback, has just moved to town to replace the former QB who died tragically, and the rest of the football team isn't making it easy for her. The only friend she really seems to have at school is Amber, one of the cheerleaders, who is doing her best to make Jack feel like a part of the team - at least, until both the cheer squad and the football team decide to take matters into their own hands.

I absolutely loved the idea of turning the quarterback/cheerleader trope on its head, and Adler does a fantastic job in its execution. The whys and hows around Jack joining the team do actually feel believable, which was my one concern when reading the book synopsis. I don't know much about football itself so I can't really speak on that, but I bought everything that was presented in the book as football facts, so Adler at least did a good job of convincing me.

Amber, Jack, and Miguel are all solid characters with their own desires and drives, and as a reader it's easy to see where they each are coming from and root for each of them in different ways. None of them are perfect protagonists, but they each undergo substantial character growth through the course of the story, which is exactly what I like to see with good characters.

The one thing that might be difficult for certain readers is the amount of angst in this book. They're teenagers, so it's to be expected to some extent, but because of the nature of the story there is definitely more than you'd expect from a rom-com. That being said, there is a good payoff at the end for sticking with it, and the angst that is there does lead to character growth, so I personally think it ended up being entirely worth it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing a copy for review. ( )