#AmReading YA

The Love Playbook
Suze Winegardner
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Entangled: Crush
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

When Avery Stone learns her dad will be fired if his high school team doesn’t make the playoffs, she has to get her head out of her day planner and do something—anything—to help him win. Even if it means secretly coaching the team’s newest player, who seems to have more game than skill.

Lucas Black just transferred to Hillside with a fake name and a big secret. The MVP of every team he’d played on since he was seven—not to mention the MVP of every post-game party—he can’t understand why since arriving at Hillside, he’s been unable to catch a single. Freaking. Ball.

Until…Avery. Amazing, kind, generous, and crazy-freaking-hot Avery.

As Lucas goes from zero back to hero and Avery struggles with just what Lucas means to her, she inadvertently sets them on a collision course with Lucas’s secret…a secret that could take down not only Lucas but her father too.

DISCLAIMER: This Entangled Teen Crush contains a football player hotter than the Texas sun, hotel cuddles, and a steamy makeout session in the rain.

Avery's family was still recovering from her mother's sudden death, when she learned her father's job was on the line. She wasn't sure how to guarantee his football team made the playoffs, but she knew they had a better chance with Lucas on the team.

Lucas was just trying to lie low after being run out of his last school. He shouldn't have been playing ball, but he just needed that small part of himself to help ease the pain of all he lost. He just never expected someone like Avery would waltz into his life, and push him back into the limelight.

My love for football books is no secret, and this one hit me with a one-two-punch, while also filling me up with a good dose of feel-good, which I expect from sports themed books.

Both Lucas and Avery were trying to recover from some very big losses. Avery was still reeling from her mother's death, and trying to cope in her own way, by trying to plan and control as many things as possible. While, Lucas essentially lost everything, and was forced to start a new - no team, no friends, no future. Both of their situations were heartbreaking, even if they were very different kinds of losses, and it was a gift that they found each other to help assuage the pain.

It brought me so much joy to see Lucas rebuilding his life, and this small town really welcomed him with open arms. At first you would think it was all about his ability to run and catch the ball, but later in the story, when everything starts to fall apart, that's when you find out who your friends are. And, wow! That last bit of the book was what I come to sports romances for. It made me want to stand up and cheer, and left me in a state of utter happiness.

On top of all of this, I also got a great romance. It might have seemed a little insta-lovey, but I was a fan of this pairing. Avery "saw" Lucas after he had hit rock bottom, when everyone else had abandoned him. She offered him a helping hand, when he felt isolated and alone, and I can understand him falling for the girl. Regardless of what drove their union, I liked seeing this love grow and flourish. It was sweet and gooey, and there was even a small-scale grand gesture, which made my happy tears flow, and reminded me that even small gestures can be quite grand.

Overall: A touching story about the power of love, family, and friendship, when it comes to recovering from great losses.

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Squashed
Joan Bauer
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Humor, agriculture and young love all come together in Joan Bauer's first novel, set in rural Iowa. Sixteen-year-old Ellie Morgan's life would be almost perfect if she could just get her potentially prize-winning pumpkin to put on about 200 more pounds--and if she could take off 20 herself...in hopes of attracting Wes, the new boy in town.

Ninth Annual Delacorte Press Prize for an Outstanding First Young Adult Novel.

I chose this book on a whim, because I needed a book set in Iowa for my 50 States Reading challenge, and what an awesome treat this was. The synopsis doesn't do this book any justice, if you ask me, because at its heart, this was a tale of girl and her pumpkin.

Ellie was a grower. She put her heart, soul, and life blood into nurturing her Big Max Giant pumpkin. Her passion for growing was so inspiring to me! I never thought the story of a giant pumpkin would captivate me in this way, but it did.

I grew up in Brooklyn, where my grandfather, who had farmed back in Poland, had a little city garden. I loved visiting and tending the fruits and veggies, but I had no clue how much really went into making the garden grow. I loved when Ellie shared all her knowledge about caring for Max with me. It was interesting, and I was awed by her knowledge and dedication.

But, there was a lot more to this book than growing. This was really a story about Ellie, who immediately owned a piece of my heart. I loved her voice, her humor, her passion. I just could not resist wanting to know more about her.

She was a young woman, who had lost her mother at a rather young age, and was desperately trying to connect with her father. This was the part that really hit me in the feels, and is currently bringing tears to my eyes. It was a special treat seeing Ellie and her dad build that bridge back to each other as they attempted to mend the mom-sized hole in their hearts.

But, she was also an average teen, who had a crush on a new-to-town grower, Wes. Wes and Ellie were two peas in a pod, and their courtship was rather endearing. I smiled until it hurt as I watched these two grow closer and closer, as Max grew bigger and bigger.

Bauer drew these wonderful parallels between Max's life and Ellie's life. They both went through a growing cycle together, and I cheered and shed tears for them both.

Do you have a favorite dish featuring pumpkin?
Let us know in the comments!