title: Game On
author: Ki Stephens
publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
publication date: September 9, 2025
pages: 336
peppers: 3 (on this scale)
warnings: broken arm, house fire (before story), absent and neglecting parents
summary: Ella, a student at Oxford, decides to study abroad in Nashville so that she can take advantage of the amazing cheer program of Whitland University. The plan is to go with her boyfriend and travel together after the school year ends, but when he dumps her on their departure day, her plans change...and when she meets Whitland's star QB Hudson on her first night in the USA, her plans change even more.
tropes:
- QB and the cheerleader
- he has to step in to save the day
- unpacking past trauma
- OCD
what I liked:
- lots of technical cheer talk
- actual scenes in class and training
- QB is more than football
- mental illness representation
what I didn’t like:
- could have been tighter -- too much telling about their feelings in ways that felt overdone, drawn out
- inner voices didn't seem age-appropriate
overall rating: 3 (of 5 stars)