Nicole M. Hewitt's Reviews > Crushing It

This review and a fun post with the author's Top Ten Addictions can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction

When I picked up this book, I was expecting a cute sports romance, but this story went much deeper than that. It does, in fact, focus on soccer (which will appeal to the huge number of MG girls who enjoy sports) and it also features a romance, using one of my favorite YA romance tropes: enemies who fall for each other without knowing it when they correspond anonymously. This is the first time I’ve seen this trope in a middle grade, probably because MG romance is just now becoming more common. The elements of the story that revolve around the broken friendship and the budding romance are all really compelling because I liked both MC’s and I was definitely rooting for them. It was nice to see the fracture in the friendship from both perspectives. But honestly the parts of the book I found most compelling were the subplots that had to do with Tory’s strained family relationships. I felt deeply for Tory–and I even cried at one point in the book when her world was crashing down around her. I wasn’t expecting to find myself so invested in Tory, but the fact that I was made her happy ending that much sweeter for me!

I would definitely recommend this book to kids who like contemporary reads, and it’s a great introduction to romance for those MG readers who aren’t quite ready for YA.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher so I could provide an honest review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***