Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler (ARC Review)

Title: Home Field Advantage
Author: Dahlia Adler
Type: Fiction
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBTQ
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Date published: June 7, 2022

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Amber McCloud’s dream is to become cheer captain at the end of the year, but it’s an extra-tall order to be joyful and spirited when the quarterback of your team has been killed in a car accident. For both the team and the squad, watching Robbie get replaced by newcomer Jack Walsh is brutal. And when it turns out Jack is actually short for Jaclyn, all hell breaks loose.

The players refuse to be led by a girl, the cheerleaders are mad about the changes to their traditions, and the fact that Robbie’s been not only replaced but outshined by a QB who wears a sports bra has more than a few Atherton Alligators in a rage. Amber tries for some semblance of unity, but it quickly becomes clear that she’s only got a future on the squad and with her friends if she helps them take Jack down.

Just one problem: Amber and Jack are falling for each other, and if Amber can’t stand up for Jack and figure out how to get everyone to fall in line, her dream may come at the cost of her heart.

⤖ My Review ⬻

Dahlia Adler’s Home Field Advantage was both fun and thought-provoking! This was a great read for summer, and really gives off that small town vibe. I’m one of those folks who didn’t enjoy high school, so I often prefer not to be taken back there through books or any other entertainment. But while the characters in this book were in high school, it wasn’t at the center of the story, which was a definite bonus for me.

I really liked the characters and how dynamic and real they felt especially considering the length of this book since I find often with shorter contemporaries it can be difficult for the author to give the best sense of what characters are like and in turn it can be hard for the reader to get a feel for the characters as well. I especially liked the main characters Amber and Jack.

There was so much chemistry between those two! It was obvious for me right from the start, and I rooted for them from their very first meeting. It was a join to watch their relationship develop throughout Home Field Advantage and to journey alongside them through the happy times as well as the bumps in the road. While I considered this to be a light read in part, there were definitely some subjects that make you think—especially about how the world and society should have progressed a lot more by this point than they actually have.

As the synopsis indicates, Home Field Advantage tackles the topics of homophobia and misogyny, taking me on quite the rollercoaster ride with feelings ranging from “oh my gosh this is so romantic,” “wow there’s steam coming off these pages,” and “I really hate people like this.” I definiely recommend Home Field Advantage and can say that Adler will be an author I’ll be reading more from.

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Dahlia Adler is an editor by day, a freelance writer by night, and a writer of Contemporary YA and NA at every spare moment in between. She’s the author of the Daylight Falls duology, Just Visiting, the Radleigh University series, Cool for the Summer, Home Field Advantage and the upcoming Going Bicoastal; a contributor to anthologies All Out, The Radical Element, and It’s a Whole Spiel; the editor of the anthologies His Hideous Heart, That Way Madness Lies, At Midnight, and, with Jennifer Iacopelli, Out of Our League (2024); and crafter of over five billion tweets as @MissDahlELama. She lives in New York with her family and their overstuffed bookshelves.