I read this book during the Trans Rights Readathon and had such a good time.

This lovely book shows us how it is to be a trans teen in high school. This specifically was interesting to me because I only transitioned after high school going into uni. Sometimes I feel glad that I only transitioned later, not having had that experience with teenage bullies. But other days I mourn for the days I lived feeling miserable not knowing what was up and not being able to live like the real me. Seeing a story from someones perspective who is actually out during high school was thus really interesting to me to read about.

Grace felt like she had to quit football to be accepted to live as a girl. But from the book early on it's clear how much that hurts her. It always used to be her passion and giving that up hurt a lot. But her mates didn't just give up on her and their friendship and still call her over to hang out. The way she is hesitant to hang out though was thoroughly familiar. When I transitioned to a man I really felt like I was supposed to hang out with the boys from that point onward. But whoever decided that is the supposed rule sucks and Grace realizes that too, slowly hanging more and more out with her old football friends. Seeing her accept that you don't need to give up everything masculine from your old life was freeing to read and I loved to see that growth in her.

That didn't mean that growth was flawless though, and she struggles managing her time and making sure to still hang out with her newer queer friends too. Seeing her struggle with this and learning how to manage it all was all too relatable and I think she ended up doing quite okay.

I also really enjoyed how this book handles making choices for the future. A big part in this book is Grace looking for a potential scholarship and her decisions around that. It is a big question for her and very understandable so, and the book definitely made it clear that choosing this is hard for her. The way she worked through her difficult feelings and found her way was beautiful to be a part of and I was so full of feelings at the conclusion of her choice.

Concluding this is a book about a trans teen that is trying to find her way after coming out and I would recommend it to anyone who might be wanting to be a part of such a journey.

60/100 or 3.0 stars

I think the LGBTQIA+ representation as a whole was the best part about this story. Zeller did a great job of making the high school experience within the community feel authetic without going too over the top with it. That for me was really the only thing that kept me reading though. Outside the representation, the story is a little boring to me personally. I didn't realize how much football talk would be in here and it didn't really work for me.

I can see how important this story will be to so many teens and adults, so I would definitely recommend it!

I sincerely believe this is an important book. We need more inclusive stories geared to young audiences.

While I did enjoy One of the Boys, I did have a few issues with. First, I really do not care much for football at all (of course this is not the author's concern) and there is a LOT of it in this novel. Second, I found that the dialogue lacked natural flow and it was sometimes even a little grating. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I was a little younger.

Of course, I still think this novel is worth picking up and is a important read for younger audiences.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

I don't know if there is a book that could be more directly written for me. I am a huge college football fan (and even more specifically enjoy the podcasts and bands referenced in the book). I think this book does an excellent job of portraying football and playing high school football in a realistic and believable way which I feel is often not the case in most books, let alone books that also deal with LGBTQ+ issues. Furthermore, the experiences of queer characters in this book felt very authentic as well as different from some of the more often told versions of these stories. I found the book at times to be incredibly funny while also having serious and sad moments. I have several students in mind who I think would really enjoy this book and am excited to buy it for my school library once it is published!

No notes. I absolutely devoured this book. Grace was such an interesting character. She wasn't perfect but she persevered and definitely finished the book with more sense of self and having accomplished something I don't think Grace of last June would have thought possible; she took control of her life.

The relationships all the characters had with each other felt so real and I appreciate every side character had their own journey interwoven with Grace's and stood on their own rather than just as props for the FMC.

Side note: as somebody who spent 5 years in Buffalo for school this book transported me back to WNY.

Thank you so much to Levine Querido and NetGalley for providing the ARC.

This book was incredibly out of my comfort zone, nonetheless I gave it the benefit of the doubt. After all a book all about American football can’t be that bad for someone who is not American nor a sports fan, right?
I will say that this is in fact a very American book. The way the characters behaved, talked, interacted, how they approached certain situations was all very different from how I or the people I grew up around would. This is not to spread negativity but rather be surprised and somewhat amused by the cultural differences.
As I mentioned above, I’m not a sports fan, know absolutely nothing about American football. For me the sports aspect of this book wasn’t too interesting, but I also didn’t really realise just how crucial football would be to the plot.
Sadly I wasn’t a huge fan of the romance subplot either. It wasn’t bad, on the contrary I quite appreciated the representation of trans lesbians. I just simply didn’t really care for it.
One thing I really did like is how Grace’s relationship with her teammates was approached. Your values and interests and people you love don’t really change after you transition. I really liked how Grace acknowledged that and so did her teammate friends, how their dynamic did not change regardless of her gender.
I also really liked how Zoe and Grace approach their relationship, the resolution they reached I believe was the best it could’ve been considering the very complicated nature of their relationship.
Overall this book is definitely worth reading if you love sports ya sprinkled in with some trans struggles. In a world where trans people, especially trans women face tonnes of discrimination and hate this is a very brave and needed book to put out for young readers. Hate is learned and if we prevent young people from falling victim to far right ideology our world will only become more loving and accepting towards everyone.

I really loved and enjoyed this book! I think it was a great story about a trans girl discovering herself and navigating the world. I would certainly recommend everyone read this book.

The day has come when a character in the book I read is a Pisces, like me, and lo and behold, it is a favorite book. One of The Boys has all the elements that I love to see in queer YA and it's an absolutely beautiful book.

Grace Woodhouse is a trans girl who is very much learning who she is, because she always thought her path was all drawn-out before. I loved how the story allowed her to explore so much of herself and I think it's particularly beautiful how it showed that we're always allowed to come back to things we thought we left behind, find out how we feel about them and ultimately do what feels best even if it's the path that we wouldn't have imagined for ourselves before.

I recently realized that stories about queer jocks are something I really enjoy and Grace is definitely one of my favorite characters in that category. She has two distinct friend groups and part of her journey in learning to be herself also includes learning to value and love each of those friends equally, realizing that they're all very important to who she is. Also, she has the most amazing friends: my hope is for all trans folks and especially trans girls to have people like Dray, Ahmed, Kaeden, Riley or Tab beside them, people who would loudly support them all the time.

I also really liked how different the romance subplot was in this book. A highlight of this story is how much it allows for people making mistakes and making amends for them, how the characters all learn to respect each other and care for each other however different it may look from one person to another.

I didn't know much about football coming into this and it sometimes got really technical, but I didn't mind because I find it pretty cool when a book feels like it's written for those who are familiar with the universe it's set in. It's still pretty easy to keep up with regardless and the book in general is so well-written that you feel all the excitement and tension of the games.

I highly recommend this book to anyone reading this but especially to all the queer kids who've had to conciliate aspects of their identity that they thought wouldn't go well together. Yes, they can and this book is proof that it is beautiful when they do.

Thank you so much to Levine Querido and NetGalley for providing the e-ARC.

A really well-done YA novel about making the transition to who you really are. It’s painful, it’s scary, it’s transformative, it’s uplifting, even though we know Grace’s journey is ongoing. A stellar debut novel by Victoria Zeller, who tells the story of Grace Woodhouse, a talented high school football player who lots to worry about, including whether she can kick a field goal in the clutch. She can, but she also is in the process of figuring out who she is after figuring out who she isn’t. This is a beautiful novel about surprising friendships, queer joy and pain, high school angst, and just going through it. This book seems to tell a real story of a trans girl’s ascent into to womanhood - it is so hard, so uncertain, so shaky - but Grace handles it, ultimately, with, well, grace and peace. While I am not a football fan, I appreciate the clear look at the sport, at high school athletics in general, at theatre kids (my loves), at dealing with friends, a-holes, coaches, and parents. Victoria tells about the experience of coming to terms with transness through the lens of being an American high school kid. It’s so hard, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Just a lovely book for readers of all ages and experiences.. Thanks to Levine Querido and NetGalley for the eARC.

I really loved reading this book. It's such a heartwarming and emotional ride. You can feel the love that was put into writing Grace's story and I adored the entire cast of characters and the friendships! Such a lovely read and I highly recommend it.

First time author, Victoria Zeller has written a very unusual book. It is a queer sports book like none I have ever read. Our main character, Grace is a trans girl who was until recently a guy kicker on a rural football team in a small town in upstate New York. Grace quit the team after a bad ending to a great season the year before. She also quit because she was transitioning. When her teammates come to her to rejoin the team, she is torn between her love of football and the anxiety of the spotlight that a trans football player would naturally incur. We see Grace struggle with trying to find her place both in the football world and the queer world. This book is a wonderful read for any young men or women who are struggling to fit in and love sports. I highly recommend it for high schools with a balanced collection of queer fiction. Although a little nichey, this book can certainly find an audience.

I loved One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller. I was completely hooked by Grace’s raw, real journey. I care so deeply about these characters: Grace, Zoe, the queer kids, the football kids, .... Even though, as a European girlie, I couldn’t have cared less about football at first, the writer’s genuine passion for the sport made it feel meaningful and even emotional for me.

Grace’s story is an exploration of identity, resilience, and self-acceptance. The support she receives from her friends, teammates, and especially her father feels authentic and heartwarming. The writer's use of second-person narration, texts, and social media elements made the story feel real without trying too hard.

One of the Boys is a powerful, necessary read about the right to live authentically, both on and off the field. It’s a book that will mean so much to so many young readers. It's important to celebrate queer kids and promote stories where they can see themselves in. I can’t wait to see what Victoria Zeller does next!

Thanks to NetGalley, Levine Querido, and Victoria Zeller for the opportunity to read this early!

Grace has it tough after coming out as a trans girl. She's still on her journey to find herself, but with her new friends Riley and Tab, she has found herself a place where she can feel safe. However, Grace misses football in her new life and when the captains of her old team make her an offer to rejoin the team, she finds herself in a difficult place to decline. Will Grace rekindle the flame with her old sport, and if so, what would be the consequences?

I got to admit that the trans representation alone made me interested in the story to start. I didn't have any special expectations for it whatsoever, but the story took me by the hand and led me places I sometimes didn't expect to go.

What did I love about it?
- I love a good sports story. Even though I am not as well versed in American football as a Belgian.
- The first chapter immediately catches with the interaction between the scouting coach and Grace. It also immediately touched on the topic of deadnaming in an interesting way from the viewpoint of an outsider.
- The flashbacks or 'before' chapters have interesting perspective usage with the ‘you - your’, like you are the person in the chapters.
- The struggle of a trans person is depicted beautifully, both on the internal and external trials a trans person might face.
- Love that the game of American football gets explained for people who don’t know how it works. It was very welcome.
- Loved to see Grace’s support circle. I was super glad that she had people looking out for her.
- Oh the podcast format chapter gave me so much joy.
- Grace's teammates rallying behind her was the best to read.

All in all I thought this was a beautiful story. I think it has great potential to be an example for the trans community especially when it comes to sports, as this is often a difficult topic and isn't represented often, so applause for the author on that! I hope to read more compelling stories from this author in the future.

At last I want to thanks Netgalley, Levine Querido and Victoria Zeller for the eARC. I really hope to see this book do well when it releases and I will definitely keep an eye out for future releases by this author!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

Triggered warnings: deadnaming (accidental and purposeful), transphobia, minor sexual assault.

From the start I really liked this book. It was so refreshing to read a trans sports book, especially with accepting characters! Grace was such a strong character and I enjoyed following her journey on discovering her relationship with football and demanding space for herself. I really loved her friends, especially her football friends and how supportive they were. There was so much diversity and it was awesome.

The writing could be worked on. There were some sections that ended oddly and then a time skip would occur. It was jarring. I also think there was a conversion issue because there were words that were cut off or misspelled. I also think the pacing was all over the place.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and think it is very much needed. I just want to give hugs to all of you finding yourselves.

Bear with me while I digress immediately: One of my favorite "a girl?? who plays football??" books is "Like Other Girls" by Britta Lundin. The protagonist, Mara, is a closeted butch lesbian who joins the football team not to make a statement, but to show her coach in basketball — her sport of choice — that despite being kicked off the team for getting in a fight during a game, she's still a team player. But other girls do see her move as a statement, and all of a sudden Mara is one of five girls on the football team. The title comes from the boys on the team lumping all of them together as un-athletic and talentless just because they're girls. Mara's not seen as the superstar athlete she's grown used to being anymore — she's just "like other girls."

Victoria Zeller's protagonist in "One of the Boys" is Grace, a newly out trans girl whose football career as a kicker seemingly ended over the course of several months: first, in the fall of her junior year when she missed the game-winning field goal and ended her team's season, and second, when she came out as trans the following spring. She's thrilled to be out as herself, but figures football is a thing of the past — until, suddenly, it's not. After a chance run-in with a college coach and the assurances of her team captains that they'll stick up for her if the rest of the team gives her trouble, Grace returns to the football team for her senior year. Because it's the same game, isn't it? Kicking is still in her blood, even if she's on hormones now and many of the Division I teams courting her before she came out are no longer interested.

Of course, it's not all the same. Grace's head coach welcomes her back but isn't totally ready to acknowledge her being trans, she's shuffled to a makeshift locker room, and a handful of her teammates are loud-and-wrong transphobes. On the football team, she's "one of the boys" again — a loaded phrase depending on who's wielding it, just like "like other girls" — but as much as the game hasn't changed, so much is different now. Through flashback scenes, we learn how Grace got her new group of queer friends, many of whom are girls (she says she hasn't really had girls as friends aside from her ex-girlfriend, Zoe, whom she broke up with right before coming out), and learn more about Grace's struggles with anger, toxic masculinity, and gender dysphoria.

I was thrilled to learn about the existence of this book, and heartened as I read by how matter-of-fact this story was. Yes, it's huge that a trans girl is playing organized sports at all, much less football — and still, every story beat just made sense. I hesitate to praise a book for its realism alone, but it was really important to me as a trans person (and former athlete and sportswriter) that Grace's support system wasn't perfect, that she got to make mistakes, and even that Zeller didn't shy away from describing the overt transphobia Grace faced from her teammates, opposing fans, and others. All that mattered, really, is that I came into this book rooting for Grace, and I came away from it rooting for Grace even more. (Oh, and with a new appreciation for the city of Buffalo.)

Thanks to Levine Querido and NetGalley for the ARC!

A fun and cute read about a high school football team that wants their kicker to keep kicking with them. The story does a good job of balancing the real world transgirls in sports issues with the reality that they usually just want to play with their friends. The story felt honest, and the characters felt realistic, and it was fun to see them interact with each other, especially in group settings. The conversations felt natural, and I enjoyed the different perspectives about what the future holds for Grace and her friends. I also really enjoyed the ending, and the direction it took, as it felt right for the character of Grace and like she was staying true to the girl we met at the beginning of the book. Full disclosure, I don't enjoy football, but the book had me interested in it, and the camaraderie of the team was nice to read. There were lots of moments in the book that felt like they captured the reality of being a girl, playing football, and being trans, and tied them all together nicely.

One of the Boys is one of those books I heard a lot about before jumping into it - mostly praises from fellow internet reviewers I avidly listen to. I wasn't disappointed at all.

In this book, you follow Grace Woodhouse, who has recently come into herself as a transwoman. With this comes new challenges for her : the end of her relationship with Zoe, sure, but mostly her conflicting relationship with (american) football, as she used to be a very good kicker. She's quit the latter as it is an all-boys sport but when her ex-captains come find her to ask if she would rejoin, she accepts. Glad she can play again, she still has to find her place as a woman in a team where everyone knew her as a boy.

Zeller weaves a kind of story that is so quintessentially YA (coming of age, graduation, sports) while simultaneously carving a space for transness. One of the Boys is written in a way that is so stellar I was left speechless for half of it. I've rarely came across a character as fleshed out as Grace and I loved that the story doesn't shy away from dealing with transphobia head-on and, particularly, deadnaming, which tends to be implicit and overall avoided in most books. It made for a very tangible reading experience, at least for me, as it felt so deeply rooted in something I've experienced. The dialogues and overall interactions between the characters also contributed to this feeling of tangibility of the story. Grace navigating her new relationship with her ex, with the latter making mistakes that are adressed and not cast aside, was also an aspect of the story that I felt was not being explored a lot in trans fictions and it felt nice to read something about it.
I know nothing at all about american football (and even kind of hate it, I must say) but it shows that Zeller is really passionnate and knowledegable about it and I have to admit that I was more than engaged everytime we were on the field with Grace - and that despite Zeller using official terminology that I had to search the meaning of, it did not deter my understanding of the story or appreciation of the book.

I think I will look back on One of the Boys fondly for years to come and I'm so glad it exists. Please give it a try if you can, I don't expect you to regret it.

Thank you to Levine Querido, Victoria Zeller and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. This review is entirely my own and honest opinion.

Everything about this was enjoyable. Grace and her teammates were such good friends and I appreciated the different reactions everyone had to her transition. Not everyone will be a good supporter. A lot of people may not support you at all, but the ones that do make such a huge difference.

As we all know, more experienced gays can clock baby gays in an instant so the friendship set up with Tabitha and Riley was really cute. The flashback scenes were so enlightening and the use of the second person really helped get into Grace's head pre-transition. This is a book we all need right now.

One of the Boys was an excellent read. Not only did this story have me reminiscing and missing my own sport, but it made me so happy that it was written in such a realistic and thoughtful way. This journey of, not only Grace but many characters, finding themselves during their senior year was so well executed. It truly brought a fresh, real perspective on the experience of queer youth about to undergo a huge change in their lives. The discussions and issues brought up throughout the book were well placed and handled, (even bringing up middle names!! a topic that I find is rare to find in trans discussions!) I appreciated that despite the author clearly speaking from experience, Grace had her own voice and her own story, and it didn't feel that the author was overly inserting herself into the narrative.
One issue that I thought I had was the sort of "stereotypical" portrayal of the trans male character being a stoner as well as the "goth" one being into tarot, yet upon reflecting back it is laughably accurate to how high school students in our generation behave. I do feel that this story won't be very accessible to all audiences, as many of Grace's thoughts and actions will be lost to those who do not understand, but I feel that this is very reflective of what she goes through in the book. Overall, this story is an incredibly important one, the fact that Grace had a supportive father, friends, and adults in her life while still dealing with the very real discrimination from teammates, adults, and strangers was both a refreshing and raw portrayal. I can't describe how grateful I am that this is not only the story of a trans girl, (stories that are few and far between,) but it is one where it shows the good and the bad, not just queer discrimination but queer joy, queer success. Trans people deserve happy endings, and I hope this story reaches the people who need it most.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sunshine, let's grab an umbrella and suit up, we're braving the rain to go see if we can find a rainbow! Fair warning: we’ll have to deal with the absolute flood of emotions that escaped me once I’d finished reading this the first time around 🥹

We'll be braving a little snow, a downpour once or twice, a teenage high school experience, and most importantly, we'll be meeting Grace - a fairly newly out trans girl, a chaotic teenage mess who also happens to love football and who previously was known for having a spectacular kick. During senior year we'll go see the drama of American football as it unfolds its acts (and no, don’t worry, I'm European and know nothing about the sport either, but the author’s love of the game has bled through the pages so thoroughly, we’ll soak in it and be fine).

On our quest, we’ll meet some jocks, whom I’ll gladly go to battle for (and also a few I wouldn’t mind tripping on the way). There'll be a lesbian and a bisexual girl from trig class who, no matter the angle, always will be in your corner. There’ll also be a feelings-awkward dad, a teenage parent, an old wisdom-speaking coach, an ex-girlfriend turned rebellious student council member, a gay football player or two, and the most natural and authentic representation of diversity and real teenagers I’ve seen done in a long time - if not ever.

"One of the Boys" is a story about growing up, belonging, teenagers, friendships, bravery, honesty, love, football, teammates, and the DRAMA of American football! I am in awe of how no character in this story feels flat, and how easy it is to walk alongside Grace in her cleats - even without having any first-hand knowledge of being trans or of playing American football.

The fact that this book will soon exist for young (and old) people to read makes me hopeful. I hope some people will pick it up because they feel compelled to read about a trans girl's high school experience. I hope some people will pick it up because of football and the game that shines so bright throughout this story. I hope some people will grab the book, not really knowing why, but letting themselves be carried through by Grace and her funny commentary, her strength, her utter teenage chaos, and her love for football.