It’s never easy replacing a beloved quarterback. For Jaclyn “Jack” Walsh it’s even harder. None of the players want to be led by a girl even if she is a girl who could play any of them into the ground. They all claim it’s because they’re trying to be loyal to the memory of Robbie–the previous quarterback who died in a car accident–but this isn’t Jack’s team and she knows sexism when she sees it even if it is shrouded in grief. Playing with the Atherton Alligators could be Jack’s only chance to show college scouts everything she can do. But only if the team will play with her.
Amber McCloud doesn’t want to get involved when it looks more and more like the Atherton Alligators would rather cannibalize themselves and ruin their chances at a championship than be led by Jack. But Amber can’t do that when she’s got her eye on being cheer captain next year to secure some very needed college scholarships. The other problem is that Amber knows that Robbie was more of an asshole than a leader–certainly not someone worthy of the level of sabotage being planned by most of the players and cheerleaders.
Also, and this might be the biggest problem, Jack is really cute. And funny. And Amber is definitely falling for her–a problem when no one at school knows she’s queer and Amber has no intention of outing herself to anyone until college.
With everything on the line Jack and Amber both have to decide how much they’ll willing to risk for a big win both on the playing field and with each other in Home Field Advantage (2022) by Dahlia Adler.
Home Field Advantage alternates between Jack and Amber’s first person narrations. Jack and Amber are white and there is some diversity among the supporting cast.
With senior year approaching both Jack and Amber feel the pressure to secure college scholarships which lends urgency to the plot on top of the Alligators chasing a championship win throughout the novel. While the chemistry between the main characters is immediate, readers may have a hard time rooting for Amber to get the girl when she spends so much of the novel ignoring the bullying and harassment Jack faces from the team without intervening. While Amber eventually acknowledges this passive behavior that looks a lot like tacit support, it’s not unpacked as much as it could be in the story.
In addition to facing the animosity of her team, Jack also deals with the income disparity between herself and most of the school with Jack moving separately with her mom to be in the correct school district to become quarterback leading to thoughtful conversations about privilege and the implied wealth for many school athletes.
With a finale at the biggest game of the season, Home Field Advantage ends with a lot of technical terms for football but Adler does an excellent job of keeping the story approachable–and the stakes sky high–for readers regardless of their football expertise. Home Field Advantage has all the best pieces of a big sports movie in book form. Recommended.
Possible Pairings: Pillow Talk by Stephanie Cooke and Mel Valentine Vargas, Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa, The Game Can’t Love You Back by Karole Cozzo, That’s Debatable by Jen Doll, The One True Me and You by Remi K. England, Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning, Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally, Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin, Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith, She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen