"Home Field Advantage" by Dahlia Adler is an audiobook that captures the heart and spirit of young love and the challenges of breaking barriers. This contemporary young adult story combines romance, sports, and the journey of self-discovery, all wrapped up in a narration that brings the characters and their experiences to life.

The story revolves around Amber McCloud, a high school cheerleader, and Jack Walsh, the new star quarterback who happens to be a girl. Their worlds collide in the midst of high school politics, sports rivalries, and societal expectations. Adler's writing is both poignant and uplifting, tackling themes of gender norms, sexuality, and acceptance with sensitivity and realism.

The narration of this audiobook is a standout. The narrator does an excellent job of capturing the youthful energy and emotional nuances of both Amber and Jack. Their ability to switch between characters seamlessly adds depth to the listening experience, making each character's struggles and triumphs feel personal and relatable.

Dahlia Adler's character development is remarkable in "Home Field Advantage." Amber and Jack are not just typical high school archetypes; they are fully realized individuals with their own dreams, fears, and complexities. The supporting cast is equally well-crafted, contributing to the richness of the story's high school setting.

What I particularly enjoyed about this audiobook is its authentic portrayal of teenage life. The dialogue is witty and natural, reflecting the way teenagers actually speak and interact. The highs and lows of high school, from the excitement of football games to the pressures of fitting in, are depicted with an authenticity that resonates with the listener.

The romance between Amber and Jack is handled beautifully. It's sweet, sincere, and faces realistic challenges, making it a refreshing change from the often idealized romances in young adult fiction. Their relationship, along with the sports backdrop, adds an engaging layer to the story, making it about more than just romance.

In conclusion, "Home Field Advantage" is a charming and empowering audiobook that tackles important themes with grace and heart. Dahlia Adler has created a story that is both entertaining and meaningful, with characters that stay with you long after the story ends. The excellent narration enhances the overall experience, making it a must-listen for fans of young adult fiction. This audiobook is a touching reminder of the power of acceptance, the importance of being true to oneself, and the magic of first love.

I was hoping I would like this one more since I've really enjoyed other Dahlia Adler books, but this one didn't do anything special for me. I guess I'm just not a sports romance girlie. I did really enjoy that the audiobook had two narrators.

This was such a sweet romance. I loved Amber and Jack. This was heavier than I thought it would be. It dealt with a lot of heavy topics. Homophobia and death being the top ones. I thought it was done so well. This author is an autograb for me! Thank you to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I love Dahlia Adler and have blessed enough to get all of her books early. This is by far one of my favorites. I went into expecting a light fluffy read but it tackled so much more homophobia, sexism and misogyny to name a few. I grew up in a North Carolina small town so I felt like I could really relate. The romance was everything! I am so happy that wlw are getting more and more books, as a 32 year old lesbian I wish I had this many options when I was younger.

The audio was stunning. I loved Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince they embodied the characters so well.

“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

Having read books by Adler in the past, I thought I knew what I was getting into with this book. However, it was a bit heavier than her previous novels. Home Field Advantage tells the age-old story of the quarterback/cheerleader romance, but makes it queer. Both girls, Amber and Jack, experience horrible misogyny and homophobia from their peers and community throughout the story and lean on each other for support. I just wish the book had been advertised differently so readers knew it was a more serious story. It is definitely not a fun, queer romance like many would think based on its cute rainbow cover.

Cute high school romance about some kids who are afraid to deviate from the status quo, but have to decide if happiness and personal truth are more important than meeting expectations. Loved the audio narration (Natalie Naudus - swooooon.)

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.

Oh, this was super cute! While it tackles being queer in a less than welcoming small town environment, there's not a lot of queer crisis here. The characters are comfortable with who they are and the drama isn't really about that at all--it's about whether a team and community will accept a girl as quarterback after the death of her beloved predecessor.

This one definitely skews on the younger side of YA in terms of the writing, and doesn't really pack a huge emotional punch. I thought the dual POV narration in the audio was solid and it was easy to differentiate between the two narrators throughout.

I think this is a solid addition for any YA reader, but probably more suitable for middle school/early high school than older teens.

✰✰✰.5 / 5

It’s your classic cheerleader/quarterback romance … except it’s sapphic!

This book was cute! Amber, a cheerleader gunning for Captain, is forced to confront her homophobic and misogynistic teammates when a new quarterback replaces the recently deceased old one, but she’s a girl. I really loved the commentary from this book about how hard it is to fully come out as queer when you’re in an unaccepting place. And the internal conflict that comes when you know those people who you have grown up with and truly love won’t accept your sexuality. I liked how Amber’s feelings towards her friends weren’t really presented as black and white, but as a gray somewhere in-between.

I really emphasized with Amber’s stories and struggles, but found myself liking Jack, our star quarterback, less. The book is told in a dual POV, which I think worked super well. The two girls definitely fit into some classic, slightly problematic, femme and butch stereotypes for wlw, but I could look past that. The romance was cute, though they got together super quickly and I didn’t see a ton of reason or substance behind their relationship (however fanfic and romance novels have set my standards for perfect relationships very high so this is me being nit-picky).

Overall, if you can look past some really cringe pop culture references and some one-dimensional bitchy cheerleaders and asshole football players, this book is a cute sapphic take on this classic relationship trope. It’s a good read that handles some heavier topics on the background of a primarily happy wlw relationship, which was nice to read.

Really cute queer YA romance that flips the cheerleader/quarterback stereotype on its ass and infinitely broadens its appeal. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

I really wanted to like this one, but it ended up not being for me. I definitely think that others will like this, especially anyone that likes queer YA books and anyone that likes YA books with high school sports.

This is a great f+f sports romance. It tackled enough "real stuff" while still keeping a fun and light. Great narrators.

A mediocre YA tale with a gay twist on the cheerleader (Amber)/jock (Jack) combination. There isn't much substance to this narrative, and it focuses on the key storyline points—Amber doesn't want to come out as gay and endanger her career as a cheerleader, and Jack is shunned by the school and her own football team for...being a female quarterback? prevailing in games? Honestly, I'm not sure because it doesn't make much sense, but just go with it. This turmoil serves as a backdrop, and the romance is partly front and center, but it is also tedious. It's insta-lust since one wears spectacles and the other is... "bendy"? The characters were formulaic and dull, therefore there was no fresh life put into them.

I like it was enjoyable but other than that there’s not much I like about it. Pretty bland and well predictable which isn’t bad but it could’ve have been done better. Would recommend as an easy read.

I love a good lgbt book and this one had all of the feels! It was super cut and I loved the sports aspect! I deff recommend for a teen that may be going through the same things

The story: I absolutely devoured this book. The characters were quick to draw me in and help me understand why they wanted what they wanted, and especially why they wanted each other. I can’t say I usually care much about football or cheerleading, but these girls made me want to care about both. I also can’t emphasize enough how interesting it was that one of the main antagonists (if I can call him that) of the book, was already dead. Which isn’t something I expect in a YA sports romance. Dahlia Adler really nailed it.

The audiobook: Both narrators did a phenomenal job and their voices matched to their character’s personalities perfectly.
The formatting of the audiobook was a little annoying, which I won’t knock my review down for, but: the numbers of the sections didn’t line up with the chapter numbers, and at the very end of the audiobook, chapter one was attached again. It also annoyed me a little bit that the chapters weren’t separated by POV switch.

Amber wants nothing more than to become the cheerleading captain next year, and will do everything in her power to secure the spot. When the quarterback of the football team dies in a tragic car accident, the replacement QB happens to be a cute girl named Jack, who Amber begins to fall for. Without the support of her team, Amber needs to decide who she wants to cheer for.

I listened to this on audio in one sitting and thought it was a cute read, if you can get past all the misogynistic, homophobic assholes on the team and cheer squad... I liked the dual POV between Jack and Amber, I found it easy to tell them apart, but I listened to it on audio, and different voices were used for each of the characters. I like how both the girls grew as the story progressed and they both began to stand up for what they believed in, instead of going with the pressure of their peers. Jack was definitely my favourite of the two main characters. I found her to be extremely relatable and you couldn't help but root for her. I will say that I found Amber to be a bit more hard to like, especially when she wasn't standing up to Jack when the squad and team were being terrible to her. But, I also understand why she did what she did, and being afraid to "step out of line". I adored Amber's mom, she is openly bisexual, and such an awesome support system for Amber without being overbearing. Most of the secondary characters were terrible humans, and it was upsetting that the majority of them had no character development whatsoever.

Overall, I think this was a cute read, with some deeper topics that were explored well.

I loved the idea of a female quarterback romancing the head cheerleader! Dahlia Adler clearly has a great bit of fun with this theme in Home Field Advantage.

The opportunity to play quarterback doesn't come along very often, especially for a girl, so Jack has to make some big compromises to make it happen. For Amber and her friends, welcoming the new QB is harder than you'd think. It's way more than just a matter of "new kid in town".

There are only a couple of sports scenes, but they're exciting and well written. And considering I'm not a fan of American football, that's high praise indeed *wink*.

The audio version is nicely performed by dual narrators, Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Adler once again serves chemistry that absolutely sizzles! I loved this book almost as much as Cool for the Summer. The characters were extremely likeable, and I found myself speeding through the book. Highly recommend, this author is one of the best emerging YA authors I've come across lately!