Seventeen year old Mara is deeply closeted, and is aware of only one other gay person in her tiny Oregon town. Struggling to figure out where she fits in, Mara finds herself in an incident where she is kicked off the girls basketball team. Participating in another team sport without getting in a fight or having any other incident of note is her only key to earning her basketball spot back. On a lark, she decides to join the football team. This in turn inspires several other girls within her school to join, including her arch-nemesis Carly Nakata who happens to be very loud, out, and proud.

What follows is Mara's coming to terms with her own sexuality, standing up against patriarchal gender roles, and learning to be her own person even if that results in her own family and town ostracizing her.

The LGBT representation in this book is very strong, and excellently done. Mara's internal struggle is realistically portrayed, as is her chafing against the expectations of her family and others to simply conform.

I found that I strongly disliked Mara's parents: especially her mother. Those two could have benefited from a little more complexity, and perhaps some backstory as to when things began to change between them. The relationship between Mara and her brother was well portrayed and their interactions came off as very typical of a normal sibling relationship. Having said that, I did feel that Mara's brother should have been more sympathetic to her situation and tried to help his sister more.

Over all, the dialogue was well written, the characterization believable, and the story entertaining.

I feel like this book would be valuable for several different groups of students. Female athletes? Yes. LGBTQ students? Students who don't conform to traditional gender expression? Yep. Kids who feel like their towns are a little too small - but also feel like it's home? Surely. Britta Lundin uses Mara's thoughts and experiences to give the reader a POV into opening up and discovering themeselves, but also, how not everything has to be about them. Looking forward to getting this one into my classroom next fall.

LIKE OTHER GIRLS is the YA contemporary I've been waiting for. Mara is a fantastic, flawed, furious, real heroine, learning to navigate her anger issues, her sense of self and her place in her small town. I know literally nothing about football - don't particularly care about it - but it didn't matter! Lundin is an incredible writer and I was ON the field with the girls for every moment and I loved it! Highly, highly recommend.

This book was a refreshing voice for a new era of readers. It was a book I wish would have existed when I was young

I thought this was middle of the road. I really loved Jupiter and Carly, but I didn’t like the main character. I’m okay with that though because we did go on a self acceptance journey with her. This book also aligns with the current wave of feminism which is great! I do think it could’ve been about 100 pages shorter though.

Solid story. I adore Britta Lundin, so I went in to this one with high hopes and I was not disappointed. I love sports fiction, I love strong female characters, I love books with diverse characters. Britta Lundin nailed it, and I can't wait to purchase this one for my library.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Like Other Girls in exchange for an honest review.

I swear, authors really need to stop pushing out all these great queer sports books or I'm going to start actually understanding how sports work soon. Like Other Girls made me so happy for so many different reasons. First off, the character development Mara goes through in this is so stunningly done in such a relatable, important way. From the title, you already get the sense that Lundin has a sense of the "not like other girls" trope so when we opened on girl-hating Mara I was expecting that to eventually get challenged, but I really like the way a side character was used to challenge those ideas before they're fully challenged within Mara herself to keep readers from being able to accidentally agree from with her which I think was really important with that toxic trait specifically because of the role YA has had in exasperating it.

While I still got happy-teared up at the relationship in this, I think it had more to do with the fact that two girls even smiling at each other can make my rep-starved heart overemotional. I'm a big fan of balanced relationships and since Mara starts off at such a flawed place and its implied her love interest likes her from the beginning of the book (that's not a spoiler, it's very, very obvious), I could never quite get behind how perfect the love interest was. I wish she was given more flaws and depths both to make her feel more realistic and to balance out her relationship with Mara.

This is a glorious coming of age story that doesn’t pull the punches or sugarcoat how sexism can destroy a team. I adore Mara’s queer storyline, from coming out to trusted friends to becoming more comfortable in her own skin. I love how she learns to be friends with other girls and trust that they have her back, breaking her own stereotypes in the process. I love how everything with the football team is messy and imperfect with lots of grey morality.

Anyone looking for a an inspirational sports story...for a queer-teen-in-rural-farm land story... I highly recommend Mara’s story.

When denied her place on the girls basketball team after a fighting incident, Mara chooses to follow her passion for team sports by joining the high school football team - the only football team, which is all male until now. And she's good. Good enough to start earning her place on the team and respect of her teammates. . . until four other female classmates follow her example and join, too. Now despite all that she had previously achieved, Mara is lumped in with the "useless" ones. The storyline appeared very straight-forward and easily predicted before I started. Girl joins boys' team. Girl is mocked by other team members. Girl is better than expected. Girl makes winning point and everyone is a big happy family. Simple, right? But it is not at all simple. Like Mara is not like other girls, this book is not like the others.

The characters are all very genuine, their struggles very real and easily identified with. High school football is know for its "bros" mentality, and overcoming that is no joke. Mara not only struggles with getting past the machismo and sexual harassment, but also finding a feeling of acceptance - Her male teammates don't accept her because of her gender. The adults that should be looking out for all the girls on the team don't accept them as valid players and so allow the hazing to happen without reprisal. Even her mother doesn't accept her for who she is, forcing her to wear feminine clothes and make-up in order to hide Mara's true self. Is it any wonder that Mara biggest challenge is accepting herself?

There were scenes that were hard to read. When the non-consensual touching and kissing happened, I wanted to scream at the perpetrators and the adults who allowed it to happen. The underage drinking made me sad that it was all so easy for the teen to get their hands on the alcohol. . . because it's all true to life. And the emotional and mental pain that Mara's mother inflicted on her because she wanted her daughter to be "normal" made me sob ugly, angry tears. But the humor, wit, and amazing high points of the story made going through all that negativity so very worth it. The girls standing together and saying "No More" was the best thing I have read and been inspired by in a long time.

I loved this book and cannot wait to read more by this author!

* I received an eARC through NetGalley. I am leaving my review voluntarily. *

A good story about the struggles of young females breaking through the cisheteropatriarchal boundaries, and how they have to deal with that even though it is not what they set out to do. Inspiring and fun story.

It’s not easy being a closeted butch lesbian in a small conservative town in rural Oregon, but high school junior Mara has a plan: play basketball, get a scholarship, go to college in Portland, come out. This is all threatened when Mara punches one of her basketball team - the truly annoying Carly Nakata - and her coach tells her she’s off the team next year unless she can play another team sport without incident.

After trying the oh too girly volleyball team (make up! hair ribbons!), Mara goes out for the football team where her best friend, Quinn, and her brother, Noah, play. After getting somewhat settled in and being accepted, Mara is horrified when Carly and three other girls (including her crush Valentina) are inspired to join too.

The author does a wonderful job of showing Mara's journey from wanting to be one of the boys to being proud to be part of the Elkhorn Five. The reaction of many of the team, though not unexpected, made my blood boil. There’s sly and covert actions like slashing Maras bike tires and hiding their clothes but as the girls become more of a media cause celebre, the teams hostility grows. The coaches are frustratingly and willfully unobservant.

Mara's journey from closet to out is also beautifully drawn. A new arrival in town, Jupiter, is everything Mara wants to be and Jupiter becomes a kind and thoughtful confidant and mentor. She questions some of Mara’s beliefs and actions but is always supportive and caring.

The family dynamic is sad but probably not untypical. Mara's mother is determinedly blinkered in her belief that Mara is just going through a phase and forces her into dresses and heels for church. Mara chafes at this, seeing the gulf between the daughter her mother wants and the daughter she actually has. The subplot with her father doesn’t really gel and he is a bit of a blank.

Ms Lundin’s smashing debut novel, Ship It, was set in the world of TV shows and cons and it reflected that it’s a world she is familiar with. This feels similarly authentic - the small town setting, the characters and the situations all feel real and from the heart.

Though this was a most enjoyable and entertaining read, I do have a couple of problems with the ending (spoiler alert). Firstly it plays out rather wishfully - maybe not all butch girls get so easily accepted by the cool girls in school and by their parents. And doesn’t setting up a women’s football league confirm what the boys were saying and let them off the hook for their appalling behavior?

Thanks to Freeform and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Like Other Girls is about a teenage girl, Mara, who has some pent up anger. She is removed from the basketball team and has to play another team sport in order to prove that she is able to not let her anger get the best of her. Mara is not a "girly" girl and likes hanging out with boys. Her best friend, Quinn, suggests she go out for football. Thus begins a series of events that cause Mara to question who she is, what she wants, and what are the things that are most important in life.

The characters in this book are well written. The author does a nice job of giving each one a very distinct personality, which makes the reader have strong feelings toward them. Some you will love, others you will despise, and some you will just be irritated with.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of #LikeOtherGirls by #BrittaLundin. I will recommend this book to teens who I know will appreciate the story and all it represents.

As a High School Guidance Counselor I love to read good Teen/YA novels. Unfortunately most are formula driven ~ a lot of foul language, sex, drugs talk of suicide and bulling.

The teens at my school were very competitive and if a girl was interested in a male dominate sport, she would participate, however, the girls athletic teams all did great. I don’t remember the Volleyball teams and the matching ribbons that seem to be a ‘cheerleader’ thing except for the boys on the squad.

This setting is a small town so I am sure there isn’t a lot of support or opportunities for females to participate in male dominated sports!
I did enjoy this story. I had a smile on my face when I finished.😊 ⭐⭐⭐.5 Stars

Reminded me a tad of Marjorie Herrera’s [book: When the Men Were Gone] about a teacher who became the first female High School football coach in “Football is King~ Texas”!

Want to thank NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for this early release granted to me in for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 3, 2021

Mara, 16, loved to play basketball but after a fighting incident during the game she was thrown off the team. In order to prove herself, her coach told her she needed to join another team sport to demonstrate she can play and not get into any fights. Her coach set it up for Mara to play volleyball. But Mara didn’t fit in with the other girls and their dress code. She wanted to play football with her brother and best friend. Since there wasn’t any girl football team at her high school, she joined the boys team as per the Title IX federal law.

I loved how this story developed and the struggles Mara went through, not only in terms of sports, but within herself and her family’s acceptance of this change. Mara’s mom still wanted to hold on to that image of her young daughter wearing dresses. But Mara was no longer that person and didn’t want to be. Her mother, however, forced her to conform to her wishes by wearing dresses, heels, and lipstick to church in order for her to continue playing football. Mara’s discomfort was obvious but her mother seemed to ignore it. Over time, this struggle became too much for Mara and drastic changes took place. These scenes between mother and daughter were very emotional. Mara just wanted to be seen, and especially loved, for who she was.

The secondary characters were very diverse and added a realistic feel to the school and sports setting. Mara and the other four females who joined the team,including her crush, faced much adversity by their teammates who were threatened by their very presence. They also had to contend with the not so innocent pranks directed their way by a select group of sexist teammates. There was also a scene of unwanted kisses and touches by one of the players. The girls were constantly harassed in the hopes that they would quit the team. But they persevered.

I liked everything about this story because it was very engaging and realistically written. Despite everything that was thrown at these girls, they stood strong. But most importantly, they stood together.

I would definitely recommend this book for high school students. There were many topics within this storyline that would be great for classroom discussions.

An ARC was given for an honest review.

Excellent. How do you see yourself? What makes you happy? How are other people’s views imposed upon your reality?
This story was so well done with subtlety and power. It really made me rethink my words, attitudes, and perceptions.
I think I can be a better person after reading this book.

I loved Britta Lundin's first YA novel SHIP IT. The stories and characters were complex and well developed. Unfortunately, LIKE OTHER GIRLS felt one-dimensional and surface-level. The idea of the book--a girl who plays football--is excellent. So needed! I was dismayed by the stereotyping of the volleyball players, even though Mara was chastised for it 50 pages later, and the either/or approach to the kind of girl who plays football. One of my nieces plays volleyball and is a fierce athlete. Another niece played football and liked celebrating her wins by getting a manicure in her football uniform. That's the kind of nuance I expected from Lundin and was disappointed I didn't find.

This starts with an interesting premise that I've never seen in a book - a girl who joins the football team - and the main characters is well written and in depth. But, the rest of the story kinda just scratches the surface, and the ending I think was a disappointment.

This book was a refreshing voice for a new era of readers. It was a book I wish would have existed when I was young and practicing with the boys but never playing. The interwoven plot lines and story arcs are eloquently woven and leave the reader satisfied but also hungry for more. A good book leaves a few unturned stones for the reader to imagine how it turns out, and this one does just that.

I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. See the end for teacher-specific feedback.

I was excited by the premise of “Like Other Girls” by Britta Lundin. It’s one of those stories that seems to pop up in local or national news on occasion; girl makes history by joining boys’ football team. Plus, there’s a whole micro-genre of books devoted to this scenario, like “Michigan and the Boys” (hockey) and “A Season of Daring Greatly” (baseball). Having read and enjoyed those titles, I figured I knew what to expect from this one: tons of sexism, probably some identity issues on the part of main character Mara, and an uphill battle for Mara to prove she belongs on that field just as much as anyone.

Did this book check all of those boxes? Yes. But it was also so much more. When I finished it, I couldn’t help reflecting that it was really a crash course in overcoming internalized misogyny. Mara comfortably identified as female, but all she wanted was to be seen as “one of the boys.” She nearly achieved this feat, until four other girls inspired by her example decide the to join the fray without any desire to conform to the masculine culture. In short, they are unapologetically young women playing on a men’s team.

There were so many things to love about this book. A really great cast of characters, lots of growth on the part of Mara, and a somewhat nuanced exploration of a mother who can’t let go of the feminine vision she has for her daughter to see her for who she is are high points. The plot was well-paced, authentic, engaging, and well-concluded. Even outside of the importance of this book as an exploration of gender norms and how they affect us internally and externally, this was just a flat-out enjoyable read.

As you would expect, though, sexism abounds. Hijinks perpetrated by angry team members suffering from severe cases of toxic masculinity are recurring and frustrating. Sexist and misogynistic comments are made about females’ bodies. Mara and the other girls don’t receive a lot of support from the adults whose job it is to keep them safe. Honestly, I felt like this made the portrayal even more accurate, but I know this can be hard to read for some folx.

Additionally, Mara’s mother forces her to dress in ways that are extremely feminine and not-at-all Mara’s preferred gender presentation (i.e., forcing Mara to wear dresses, heels, lipstick, etc.). Mara is highly uncomfortable and dysphoric in these scenes, and I found them a bit hard to read. Another case of an accurate portrayal of the relationship some gender-nonconforming teens face with parents who seek to control their kid’s presentation. It puts the “realistic” in “realistic fiction,” but it makes you want to scream on Mara’s behalf.

Also, while this book has no actual sex scenes and never moves beyond kissing or making out, there are a couple scenes that involve non-consensual contact (unwanted kissing and touching). There are also multiple parties with copious underage drinking.

While all of those warnings probably make this book sound super dark, it’s not- there is a lot of light throughout the struggle. Mara truly loves playing football in a way that is almost infectious. Lundin’s descriptions of Mara’s thoughts and feelings at practice are so well-written and really made me feel the magic Mara felt on the field. The friendships Mara eventually forges, both with the other girls who join the team and with a new lesbian woman who moves to town, become a source of solace and bravery. Not every player on the football team is a raging douche, and some are even supportive from the very beginning. And, even though she struggles throughout the book with some pretty stark internalized misogyny, Mara refuses to compromise on who she is, even as it makes her life harder in various ways, something I found inspiring.

All in all, this book was a really great read, and I highly recommend grabbing a copy.

Now the teachery bit: I’ve covered most of the hard content earlier in the review, but I’ll also add a language warning. Explicit language, as well as language that sexualizes women’s bodies, occurs throughout the text. But, for all the explicit parts of the book, I truly feel like this book is honest, realistic, and authentic. Nothing felt gratuitous or unnecessary. This book would be most at home in grades 9-12, but I will likely still pick up a copy for my 8th-grade classroom library when it comes out. It would be cool to do a unit in grade 9 or 10 where this text was paired with similar texts about girls playing traditionally male sports. There’s a lot of good argument topics there, plenty of good nonfiction articles to pair, and plenty to talk about that will help kids clarify their own opinions and hopefully become better people.

This book may be one of my 2021 favorites. Mara, is such an interesting, confident character that the author doesn't need any love triangles to worry about or crazy plot twists to hook the reader. Instead, the author just tells an amazing story about a girl who wants to do her own thing without having to worry about other people's opinions. This book is written for all the girls who have been told they "play like a girl" or can't do something because of their gender. The diversity of the characters and their confidence in who they are, or who they would like to be, is inspiring and the lessons learned along the way - about friendship, family, and having the confidence to be yourself - are subtle but important.