V cute v gay!!

I gotta be honest, I was a bit wary going into this because I wasn't the biggest fan of Cool for the Summer, but the synopsis just sounded right up my alley, and reminded me of recent sapphic YA books I loved, so I went for it anyway. And I'm sure glad I did! I really enjoyed this, and it ended up being a super fun, queer, fast read.

I really liked the main characters and their surrounding cast (...the non-homophobic ones), and thought it made for a unique set-up. I haven't really seen fake relationships for the purpose of hiding queerness in contemporary, YA fiction, and it was interesting to see how that played out here while also being brutally honest about the fact that being so hidden and closeted was still needed in parts of the US. There was a lot of time spent on this and related subjects, like homophobia in religion, on sports teams, and other areas of US high schools, and I felt like Adler was able to give these topics the space they deserved/needed while keeping the book overall feeling light and joyful still. I also felt like the ending did a good job of giving a well-deserved happy ending without minimizing any of the tough problems queer kids in high school face.

I also found that the story of Jack and her trying to play football as a girl in high school, and perhaps in college later, blended really well with both the queer themes of this book and the story of Amber and her struggles. It felt like this book was able to touch both on homophobia within sports and sexism in sports without diminishing either's impact on Jack's overall situation. It clearly showed how every aspect of her identity played a role in how people treated her.

I also felt like Adler did a much better job of building up her side characters in this story, and it made them feel a lot more fleshed out and less like walking identities, which is how many characters in her last novel came across to me. This was especially clearer in Jack's best friends, Morgan and Sage, and how even though we never actually spend much time with them, we can see their impact on Jack and see a bit of their own personalities come from as well. Miguel was also a very strong character, and while I still wish Amber and Jack had a bit more of a supporting cast, Adler has still improved dramatically, I think, from her last book here.

Overall, this has definitely changed my impression of Adler and her novels, and I'm seriously excited to see more from her now!