“What would it feel like to just . . . tell the truth? To live the truth?”

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE is a queer YA romance that puts a sapphic spin on the classic quarterback/cheerleader pairing. Amber is doing everything she can to become cheerleading captain, which she hopes will distinguish her enough to earn a scholarship to a college where she can finally be her full, queer self. Jack is thrilled to finally have the chance to play football on an official team, even if it means moving away from her family and friends to do it. But Jack taking on the quarterback spot isn’t simple, with the boys on the team and the bulk of the cheerleading squad unable to accept that a girl is taking over from their former quarterback who died last year. Amber tries to keep everyone united and Jack tries to earn her team’s support; meanwhile, the girls start falling for each other, threatening both of their positions.

This is not the light, fun kind of romance that it could be if we didn’t live in the world we live in. Amber and Jack are in a conservative, homophobic small town in the Florida panhandle. While Amber and Jack’s parents are accepting or at least neutral, respectively, the fears about the repercussions of coming out are incredibly strong, for good reason (not to mention the sexism and misogyny Jack deals with as she is relentlessly bullied and ostracized for being a girl on the football team). The central conflict of the book is not whether Amber and Jack are compatible or have true feelings for each other; instead, discussions about whether to come out and how, what it would be like to actually show their affection publicly, and what might be sacrificed if they do plague every argument between them.

Amber’s struggle was particularly compelling to me: she wants to be out, but is worried it will compromise her only chance to get a scholarship that will allow her to be queer at a more liberal college outside of her rural area. Watching her wrestle with this decision and fumble through how to manage her relationships with other queer people, navigating that how-can-you-be-out-without-also-outing-other-queers dilemma, is both infuriating and heartbreaking. Jack’s situation is different and, in some ways, even more grim: she barely has the choice to remain in the closet because of how she presents and the activities she loves, leaving her more willing to be out because she already has nothing to lose. I think Adler did an excellent job representing these conflicts within and between characters, and showing how homophobia impacts visible queer people and those who can “pass” differently.

The blurb of this book describes it as “sweet and funny”, which feels off to me. It is romantic, and I loved the chemistry between Amber and Jack, but it’s a much more messy and serious (and beautiful) book than the description suggests. Thanks to Wednesday Books and OrangeSky Audio for the review copies!

Content warnings: homophobia, sexism/misogyny, bullying, violence, abortion, death from drunk driving

A queer spin on the head cheerleader falls for high school QB trope. Ava Wilder elevates this trope in Home Field Advantage with her writing and character development.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This was such a sweet rivals to lovers queer book! It read like a rom com and I loved all the classic troupes turned sapphic. The end was so wonderfully written and this is definitely a contender for my favorite sports romance.

I'm not the target market but I enjoy a coming of age story, especially when barriers are broken and self discovery is well written. Also, football!

I love a good sports romance, especially one focused on football, and this one absolutely delivered. Self-love, secrets revealed, and teenagers just fighting to find themselves and be true to themselves. I felt like the love connection was lacking a little bit, I would have liked to see more about their relationship develop, see why they liked each other, it felt like it was just convenient and they were attracted to one another. But I appreciated the dual POV and did feel like it gave insight into the internal struggles for both characters.

Cute YA romance. The characters are likable. Quick short and easy read. Nice plot. It was cute that’s all.

Omg I looooved this!! Jack and Amber had really good chemistry, and I really liked how everything resolved. Short and sweet and lovely.

A classic YA romance with the QB and cheerleader young love (swoon) but in this version the QB is Jack, short for Jaclyn! A realistic portrayal right down to the terrible things people say. See content warnings regarding homophobia, car accident death,

What a fun YA romance! I flew through this read and would have happily had more to the story!

I loved both main characters - each dealing with their own personal demons, insecurities, and high school drama. I loved the classic cheerleader - quarterback trope, but with a beautiful queer twist. The pacing was good - you are invested in the relationship, without it being too much of an "instant love" situation. I think many romances can also be made or broken by its side characters, and these characters were fantastic. I felt transported to the petty insecurities of high school with the drama of peer relationships.

My one complaint is that I felt like the storyline around the previous, passed quarterback was never resolved; we learn he was not a good person, but I felt like there wasn't a moment of reckoning, which I would have appreciated.

An absolute delight. Funny, tender, and just all around badass.

Home Field Advantage was a fun and sweet sapphic romance. It’s an easy read that perfectly balances discussions of misogyny and homophobia with teen angst, friendship and passion for sport. Dahlia Adler continues to be a queer YA author you just can’t miss.

<i>Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Loved this. Funny, emotional, lighthearted, angsty. It had that perfect mix that I love in YA of comical and sweet, but also serious and real. I loved the characters and the plot was entertaining. It was a very quick read too!

Loved this stereotype-breaking read by Dahlia Adler. She can never do wrong! This educational and adorable read is for all ages

I could not get through this. I tried listening to the audiobook and it was just not for me.
I couldn't get into the plot. IT was trying to hard and maybe it just felt made for a middle grade audience?
Did not finish

I'm learning a lot about my YA reading enjoyment and I think that when we're focused on sports or extracurricular activities, I lose interest.

Home Field Advantage is such an easy read at it should be a no brainer 5 stars. right? But it's not. I loved the premise of the book and wanted to root hard for it but... I absolutely HATED all of the characters. It’s an easy read that perfectly balances discussions of misogyny and homophobia with teen angst, friendship and passion for sport.

Jack is the first and only girl to ever get to play football in an all boys team after the tragic death of their QB1. But, if you thought being in a new city without any friends is difficult enough, the team isn’t excited to have Jack there either. No matter how amazing she is or how much the team is winning for the first time ever Jack is still not considered part of the team. Not even the cheerleaders, who should know better than to treat another female athlete this way, are happy to have her on the team.

Again I really liked the overall story—I just couldn't buy Amber and Jack’s love story. It was more or less insta love, and while I don’t mind insta love, their relationship felt too forced. I didn’t feel any chemistry, and there’s little to no pining, only cheesy remarks about how adorable the other one looks. Many of the conflicts seemed easily resolvable, and the romance didn’t have any of the razzle dazzle fireworks moments I was expecting. The ending of the book was ok, but that was just it: ok. Definitely a perfect read for young, sapphic girl, but it just lacked something I was looking for. Overall, it was probably a 2.7 star read for me, the fun writing style is reason its a 3.0 star rating.

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. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was AMAZING! I loved every single thing about Amber and Jack and how they traversed their falling in love story. They had to be careful in their small town and they had to be respectful of each other's boundaries and not out each other, and I really loved how great they both were about it. I loved these two and how they slowly fell for each other, and I just loved the idea of the cheerleader and the quarterback with both of them being girls--that was just the absolute best! I also really adored Amber's bestie and died over the two of them pretending to date each other while they were both queer and how they always had each other's backs. I loved how they both finally got to come out and how they get to be happy with the people they truly want to be with. I also liked the exploration of how the former quarterback, who everyone put up on this pedestal after he died, wasn't actually a good person and how we can't just praise people after they've died and have to actually face the truth of who they were.

I really enjoyed this one as a sapphic romance lover, a football lover, and a YA book lover. It covered all three bases and thought it was super fun and easy to read! Definitely recommending.

i ADORED this book - it's my favorite Dahlia Adler read so far. It's gay, mischievous and turns rom-com tropes on their head.

This was good. I liked that although this is a sports romance, there isn’t a ton of on field sporting. I barely understand most sports. So long drawn out descriptions of the sport mean nothing to me. This book does, however, include a big helping of homophobia, misogyny, and bullying. So please be cautious of that while reading. The characters are all really flawed and so things to hurt each other, but that just makes them more believable as people. No one is perfect and does the “right thing” 100% of the time. I liked seeing the characters making mistakes and either owning up to them or continuing on the path of mistakes. It makes for a more realistic story. The romance was fine. It was a little quick for my tastes, but I’m sure other people will like it. Jack and Amber are a couple that seems like they are more willing to work things out and be there for each other. I think overall my favorite character was Miguel. I feel like he has the most on page growth of all the characters and he just seems like a fun dude.