Review: One of the Girls by Robin Daniels

My rating: 5 stars / It was amazing

Synopsis

FROM ENDZONE TO FRIENDZONE...

Senior Nick Moody is the second string quarterback on Roosevelt High School’s championship football team. He’s crushed on Mia for years, but she doesn’t know he exists. It’s time to come off the bench and into the game. Nick refuses to graduate without getting the girl or the glory.

Mia Ashlock is the remarkably kind cheer captain. She’s a yes girl, and her penchant for people pleasing always leads to bad relationships. After being humiliated in a very public dumping, her teammates decide to break her bad habit with a ban on boyfriends.

When Nick sees a poster, advertising cheer tryouts, he has a crazy idea: quit football and become a cheerleader. It’s perfect! He can get close to Mia and steal the spotlight, using his true and hidden talent—gymnastics. Nick and Mia have instant chemistry, but it does him little good. If Mia’s zero dating rule weren’t bad enough, the team treats him less like boyfriend material and more like one of the girls. Breaching the friendzone will be much harder than he thought.

Content: This book contains kissing along with limited/mild swearing and minimal innuendo/crude humor. No explicit language or references to sex.

My Review

I loved this YA book and the way it looked beyond the surface to what deeper issues the teens were facing. Nick is not just a typical football player- he has hidden skills of gymnastics abilities that he enjoys more than being a benched quarterback, but even more importantly- he is a genuinely nice guy. Aren't those the best heroes? I loved watching him come out of his shell as he does his best to subtly pursue Mia and learn more about himself as he defies the social norms of his school and expectations of his grandfather/coach. Mia is a bit of a doormat in the beginning, but thanks to some overly helpful friends and new relationship with Nick, she also discovers her inner strength and experiences a good amount of growth. A fun book with dialogue and narration that felt authentic (several laugh out loud moments!) and kept me interested in the emotions of the characters.

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)