I had a problem with how this book was structured. There was a lot of build up of trust and communication between the characters and then out of nowhere just for a plot device there was the hated miscommunication trope. Also for me the characters read a little two dimensional.

This reminded me so much of a modern-day, feminist Sarah Dessen title! Really enjoyed this story and love recommending it to my teens.

Thank you penguin teen for the gifted eARC. All opinions are my own.

I have mixed feelings on this book. I hated what our MC Jo was going through but I also didn’t understand why she kept making the same mistakes. Another thing that bothered me is Jo judging other girls repeatedly, it was very frustrating.

I loved that this book was sex-positive. Whether or not we agree with teenagers having sex, some of them do. It’s important for them to have books about it, it helps them understand what’s okay and what’s not.

Overall I liked the book, I didn’t love it but I still recommend it.

Thank you, Penguin Random House for the ARC. I loved this book! One of the most interesting parts of this book is that in many ways many of us are scared of being the practice girl for someone else and that’s just one of the reasons Practice Girl is so interesting: it hits on a common human emotion.
I really liked the dynamic between Jo and her friend and her mom: that was wonderfully done.
At times the book got a little too ‘on the nose’ for me when it came to handling misogyny and many of the characters were saying things that I’m not sure a teenager would say (although, I was a teenager before MeToo and I’m definitely not a teenager now maybe it’s a cultural difference in how teenage girls talk).
Overall, loved it!

Practice Girl is a well-written YA coming-of-age book with a great plot and story. I loved the friendships in the book - it was wonderful to see supportive friendships with feminist themes and good life lessons throughout.

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

“You deserve to be loved for your whole self, your whole heart, all your flaws, wrestler or not, with or without sex. You deserve to be seen and appreciated for your essential being.”

Jo Beckett is looking for love. She's fallen for a few boys, but for some reason, they've never fallen for her. One night, at a party she didn't even want to go to, she finds out the truth. Those boys, who are on the wrestling team she manages, consider her just a “practice girl”—the popular term for girl who’s good enough to hook up with but not to date. With this crushing revelation, Jo feels so many things--heartsick, ashamed, betrayed, and angry. But she refuses to let that label define her. In piecing her life back together, Jo is forced to unpack more uncomfortable truths about all her relationships--from her best friend to the boy she likes--that help her understand her real worth. 

WOW!! This novel completely took me by surprise! Expecting a fun story about a girl who joins the wrestling team to get payback on her misogynistic teammates, I got that and a lot more!! Laure created a truly beautiful story following Jo as she wrestles (pun alert!) with the harsh realities of life and love! As the story progressed, I found myself strongly connecting Jo and her story even though our high school experiences were vastly different! This story tugged at my heart strings and I loved every second of reading it!

I recommend this one to anyone questioning their place in love and life, fans of “Radio Silence” and “Felix Ever After,” and those looking for a read that will break your heart before piecing it back together.

Jo isn’t lucky in love. As much as she’s fallen for the boys around her, none have reciprocated that back. The boys she’s managed on the wrestling team deem her a “practice girl,” a term used for someone they could seem themselves hooking up with but never really dating. This leaves Jo in turmoil and angry and wondering why she can’t find someone who see’s her for more. She decides to face this challenge head on to understand where and how she can change.

I really felt this story. I had boys always say they liked me but I wasn’t enough for a real commitment. It hurts, so I felt the emotions Jo was going through. The self discovery and self worth. I really liked the drama in this story and Jo learning to open up and trust her feelings. I also loved the sex-positive this book had. That it’s okay to find yourself and love and sex and it be right. Some books make the character immature and too over dramatically whiny, but this one didn’t start too hard to make it feel real.

All in all, I enjoyed this own voices story of encouragement.

Jo Beckett's whole life has been centered around wrestling, even long after her father had passed away. Now, she spends her time being surrounded by guys as the manager and also falling in love with them in very short periods of time. The foundations she's come to build crumble when she discovers that the team members she's slept with call her a "practice girl," someone who uses a girl to practice sex with but never will be anything more than that. Jo is set to prove them wrong, despite falling in love with both her best friend Sam and his wrestling rival.

I don't think I've ever read a book that included both wrestling but also a plot about liberation that doesn't entirely slut shame the main character. It was honestly a really refreshing take reading this story, since it seems like whenever stories openly include sex as a part of their narrative, it can lead to characters slut shaming the main character. I never once felt that about Jo, and instead it focuses on the repercussions and the damage it does on the person involved. As a result, Jo has a LOT of personal growth that does carry through to the end of the story and in a really good way.

Another thing I love is the sex-positive messages that this story includes, as I briefly touched on. It acknowledges the fact that sex is something that people have, and while it can get messy, it instead encourages Jo and the reader to realize that talking about sex and having sex can really be an open dialogue between participants but also those that have a massive part in your life. There's also really good messages on toxic friendships and relationships and how you can move past that, especially if that person is so intertwined in your life, which is really driven home by Jo's mom and stepdad. They both have some stellar growth in this story as well, and although their own messages felt a bit forced/preachy at times, it was still really well done.

I like how the romance was deviated from the typical formula of romance books. I honestly really expected from the beginning that this was a romance between Jo and Sam, and was pleasantly surprised when it shifted to a romance between Jo and Sam's rival, Dax. On top of that, all of Jo's insecurities really flowed into her and Dax's romance, it didn't entirely disappear. Instead, the insecurities kept popping up in her head and did drive her actions, especially in the later half of the story. Did it excuse what happened? No, but she really grew from it and came out a better person in the end. I will admit I was not a fan of a cliche moment about 80% through the book. It just further drives the miscommunication trope which I'm not a fan of.

The one other weird thing I had with this story was that there was a comment that, at least for me, came off slightly transphobic if it was taken out of context. Jo is talking to Dax about her despise of the guys and makes a "lack of a (insert male body part here)" joke, to which Dax responds "Also I'm very glad for your lack of (insert male body part here)." I don't believe it was completely intentional, especially since the author slides in the fact that some characters are of the LGBTQ+ spectrum, including gay, pansexual and potentially asexual/aromantic. However, I don't want to rule it out completely as intentional/unintentional since I do not know the author.

Practice Girl is a story of female empowerment and how one can grow without the need to have a relationship in one's life. It's a story that any female-identifying individual should read, despite how real it may be.

I received a copy of this story as an e-arc from Penguin Teen. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Practice Girl is a book I completely lost myself in. I'm not sure I've ever rooted and felt for a character the way I did for Jo. Her complete humanness and desire for human connection endeared her to me completely. Flawed characters can show growth and that's what I like to see in my books.

From the very beginning, I wanted Jo to succeed and all the boys on the wrestling team to rue the day they ever dubbed her the "Practice Girl." That phrase is disgusting and made me so terribly sad for Jo and any other girl who has been treated as less than. All she wanted was someone to love her. I'm not sure if the parallel was intentional, but when Jo talks about how much she wants to be loved and have a real relationship, it reminded me of Jo Marsh's speech in the newest Little Women movie and made me tear up just the same.

But this book isn't only about Jo's "relationships." It's about grief and teamwork and perseverance. It's about showing yourself what you're made of. The plot is engaging but it's the pure heart in this book that had me unable to put it down.

I had a few minor issues that kept this from being a 5-star read:
-Jo's family is very distant from her and the reasons given don't make sense to me
-Jo and Leah's friendship is sweet but why is Jo expected to put girls before boys simply because they're girls? I was a bit confused about why their friendship fell apart in the first place.
-The ending was abrupt. I needed some more time to sit with the characters in their happiness.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I received an E-ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait until it comes out so I can go buy a physical copy!

First of all, as a woman the idea of a practice girl is terrifying and I’m really hoping no young women out there have had this term applied to them.

I do also thing this has a powerful message of everyone deserves respect. Especially in regards to sex. And so do step parents; they deserve a chance at your love.

Dax as a character was… interesting. He’s a good guy but other than that… he was meh.

Sam made me want to throttle him as I don’t like guys that play with girls emotions or string them along.

The male dominant sports aspects of this were well done and I say that as a teenager who did and taught tae keon do. Women can be kick ass, so don’t discount us just cause of our gender.

If you wanna read a story about a girl getting revenge on the guys who called her a practice girl,this is the book. I loved this, Jo is a great representation of finding out the parallelism of being a girl while also doing traditional male things. I really appreciated the way the author explores friendships and the complications they can have.

This book tackles a subject I haven’t seen in YA before. And from my perspective, it does it really well. Jo has been deemed a “practice girl” for sex and to try to fight against that she joins the wrestling team. I really enjoyed most of this book. There was one thing that happened towards the end to cause all the third-act drama and I felt as if it didn’t aid the story in a useful way and made the ending seem a bit rushed. But other than that I really like the book.

This book was everything. I absolutely loved Jo's growth and her character, all with the heartbreaking realization that she isn't who she thought she was. Her determination was so inspiring, and I thought her attitude and newfound acceptance was brilliant. Every teenager feels like the outsider and struggles to find their place in the world, and this book does such a wonderful job of showing that. I definitely recommend for everyone who's ever been disrespected and is all in for girl power.

This is not your run-of-the-mill YA book. It’s a fresh voice that draws attention to relevant problems that teenagers face.

I picked this book up and didn’t put it down until I finished it.

Jo is the manager of the high school wrestling team. She’s passionate about wrestling and has been ever since she was a little kid. However, she learns that the boys on the team view her as a “practice girl” aka somebody they can practice sexual acts with without actually committing to her. Fueled by rage at being disrespected, she joins the wrestling team to show them all up. She’s determined to define herself and not let others define her.

Honestly, Jo is a “I’m not like other girls” girl. She’s one of the guys. Because of that, she thinks that they respect her. However, after finding out what the boys really think of her, she realizes that she’s had it all wrong. Her character growth throughout the story is exponential—she realizes her hypocrisy in not wanting to be judged but then turning around and judging other girls. She makes some serious mistakes. She even seems like she’s improving just to fall back towards what she’s used to for a little bit. However, by the end of the book, she’s not the same person she was…she’s way better. She learns that having men respect women started with her having to respect them herself. It doesn’t matter if they have other interests as her because their interests are just as valid. Plus, she finally understands the value in female friendships! It’s not all stereotypical pettiness that media would have you believe. In addition to that, she learns how to love herself and know her own self-worth. Because of that, she recognizes her toxic relationships/thoughts.

I loved that this book was sex-positive. Whether or not you agree with teenagers having sex, some of them do. That’s a fact. Something the mom says is that whether or not a relationship turns sexual, you deserve to be cherished. I hope that any teenager that reads this book gets that message: you should be cherished and respected in your relationships. All of them.

This book is a girl-power book without being preachy. Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed reading about Jo’s character growth. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s not an easy process. I will say that I thought her apologies fell a little flat. I’m glad she put some effort into them though. Outside of her friends, I liked reading about her family. I think that by the end, they were finally putting in the effort they all deserved.

Lastly, I liked Jo’s and Dax’s relationship. It was cute, respectful, and realistic. I think that the unhealthy parts really reflected on Jo’s insecurities…which, her feelings were valid. (I mean, at one point even I was doubting him!) It just didn’t justify her actions. Besides that, they’re adorable and I hardcore ship them.

All in all, I highly recommend this book to anybody who loves a good contemporary feminist YA. If you’ve read “Does My Body Offend You?” Or “Moxie” and enjoyed those, I highly recommend picking this one up! This author is a refreshing new voice in the YA genre and I think that she brings an awesome perspective to it! She’ll be on my radar.

Thank you PenguinTeen for this ARC. I truly enjoyed it.

I’ll post my review to Instagram, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble the day of publication. My review is already live on Goodreads!

This book is a solid YA book that has
-coming of age story/plot
-supportive female friendships and lessons learned
-a little romance with honest communication
-feminist
-an example of setting boundaries, appropriate for teens

I really enjoyed this and I hope that teens come across this book and give it a chance.