Language: R (100+ swears, 19 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (sexual references, kissing, drinking, drugs); Violence: PG (pranks, rivalry)
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
12th grader Eliza Crowley is well known in Fairfield as her family owns the local stadium, and her dad coaches baseball. Eliza herself has a passion for stage lighting and is working on this summer’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Reed Fulton returns to Fairfield after his grandfather asked him to pitch for a new baseball team that hopes to take down the Crowley Cardinals. The two families have been feuding since the Crowleys won the bid to buy the stadium over the Fultons. After a bet puts the stadium on the line, the stakes are higher than ever. Eliza and Reed try to focus on baseball and theater, but something keeps drawing them together.
I enjoyed that this sports-themed romance had parallels to Romeo and Juliet. It also tackles themes of wealth differences, family legacy, handling pressure, and having a military parent. The novel has some familiar tropes and convenient turn-of-events common in romances, but the rich secondary plot adds depth.
Main characters read white. Minor secondary characters are LGBT+.
Ms. Megan, HS Librarian
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