In a Nutshell Reviews: Football Edition

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

Gut Check
Eric Kester
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

A darkly comic high-school drama about brotherhood, body image, concussions, and toxic masculinity from Boston Globe–bestselling adult author of That Book About Harvard.

Wyatt has wanted nothing more than to play football on Grayport's championship-winning team. But not for the fame, glory, or girls. It's his last chance to build a relationship with his older brother Brett, the star quarterback, before he leaves for college. Now that their team has gained national attention, a big win could be just what the small town needs in order to rebound from a fishing season that has been devastated by Red Tide. But when Brett suffers a terrible concussion, Wyatt must decide if keeping his brother's secret is worth risking his scholarship future.

Told with irreverent humor reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen, and a stark honesty about brotherhood and masculinity for fans of Andrew Smith, Gut Check explores the struggle of grappling with uncomfortable truths.

Wyatt had been obscured by his football hero brother's shadow his whole life, but by some odd luck, he finally got the chance to stand alongside him on the field. He saw this as his opportunity to foster a real and genuine relationship with Brett, but as he got to know the man under the hero suit, he realized that, maybe, that connection he wanted, was there all along.

• Pro: This book was so funny! The humor ran the gamut, from nerdy and slapstick to witty and wry. It all worked for me and left me either smiling or in stitches.  
• Pro: I laughed a lot, but my other emotions got a workout as well. Wyatt dealt with bullying, fat shaming, poverty, emotional abuse, alcoholism, and living in a dying town. That's a lot to chew on, but Kester navigated all the issues so thoughtfully and in a combination, which produced quite an emotional impact. 
• Pro: Being in Wyatt's head was such a treat. This kid was a gem. I hated the way he always put himself down, but I loved his tender heart, the astute and keen observations he made, and how he was able to be this way despite the toxic environment he grew up in. He was easy to love and easy to root for, and I couldn't have asked for a better narrator. 
• Pro: The heart of this book was the relationship between Brett and Wyatt. My happiness grew as their bond became more and more apparent. They had to deal with some tough situations, and seeing them lean on each other really tugged at my heart. 
• Pro: No lie, I was wiping away happy tears as I read the last few chapters of this book. It was all so wonderful and heartwarming. My sappy self is still basking in the afterglow of all those feels. 
• Pro: All I am going to say is that the cupcake scene was stupendous! That has got to be one of the most adorable scenes I have ever read. I laughed, I smiled, my heart grew three sizes. It was so good. 

Never good bumping into our crush during a cupcake crisis of existential proportions.

Overall: I love football and sibling stories, and this one combined the two in a way that was perfection for me.

** ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

The Hard Count
Ginger Scott
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Ginger Scott
Rating:  4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Nico Medina’s world is eleven miles away from mine. During the day, it’s a place where doors are open—where homes are lived in, and neighbors love. But when the sun sets, it becomes a place where young boys are afraid, where eyes watch from idling cars that hide in the shadows and wicked smoke flows from pipes.

West End is the kind of place that people survive. It buries them—one at a time, one way or another. And when Nico was a little boy, his mom always told him to run.

I’m Reagan Prescott—coach’s daughter, sister to the prodigal son, daughter in the perfect family.
Life on top.
Lies.
My world is the ugly one. Private school politics and one of the best high school football programs in the country can break even the toughest souls. Our darkness plays out in whispers and rumors, and money and status trump all. I would know—I’ve watched it kill my family slowly, strangling us for years.

In our twisted world, a boy from West End is the only shining light.
Quarterback.
Hero.
Heart.
Good.
I hated him before I needed him.
I fell for him fast.
I loved him when it was almost too late.

When two ugly worlds collide, even the strongest fall. But my world…it hasn’t met the boy from West End.

For three years, he was her scholastic nemesis, but after her brother's injury, he became her only hope for saving The Tradition's season and possibly, her father's job. Reagan, however, found that Nico was becoming a lot more important to her than she had ever anticipated, but will a culture of classism and prep school politics allow these two to succeed?

• Pro: Nico, Nico, Nico. He was just perfection. Intelligent and charming, he owned my heart. He loved his family with reckless abandon, and was not afraid to show his emotions. He experienced some serious heartbreak in this book, but I don't regret taking this emotional journey with him. 
• Pro: There's just something about sports stories. They always impress me with the dedication of the players, but they also really inspiring. All that was on the page in The Hard Count, and Scott did a fantastic job creating that feeling and pulling me into the action. 
• Pro: A sweet romance will always score tons of points with me, and I adored watching Nico and Reagan fall for each other. Nobody wanted them together, and they had that other-side-of-the-tracks thing going on too, but they didn't care. They just knew how they felt with each other, and that affection and admiration wrapped itself around me and held me tight. 
• Pro: This book was also about family, and not just the people you share your DNA with. Nico's mother and niece were fantastic, but I also loved his extended family and the community that was there to support him. 
• Pro: Nico was the embodiment of the hard count. He joined the team, emerged as a leader, and shook things up. It was good to see some people "off sides", because it was progress towards them seeing the whole person and not just where they lived or how much money they had. 
• Pro: Scott wove quite a few stellar friendships in this story as well, and I loved the celebration of the power of friendship. Nico was truly blessed with a ride-or-die friend, and Reagan was also very lucky with her bestie. I was happy that I never had to worry about someone having their backs. 

Nico is a wild stallion full of promises and gifts, and I'm not sure if he can be tamed. I'm not sure if he should. 

Overall: My first Ginger Scott book was wonderful experience. It was a romance, a sports story, and also, a story about family and friendship. The characters immediately won my heart, and I was rooting for them til the bitter end.

Have you read any of these books?
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