FROM ENDZONE TO FRIENDZONE…Senior Nick Moody is the second string quarterback on Roosevelt High School’s championship football team. He’s crushed on Mia for years, but she doesn’t know he exists. It’s time to come off the bench and into the game. Nick refuses to graduate without getting the girl or the glory.Mia Ashlock is the remarkably kind cheer captain. She’s a yes girl, and her penchant … and her penchant for people pleasing always leads to bad relationships. After being humiliated in a very public dumping, her teammates decide to break her bad habit with a ban on boyfriends.
When Nick sees a poster, advertising cheer tryouts, he has a crazy idea: quit football and become a cheerleader. It’s perfect! He can get close to Mia and steal the spotlight, using his true and hidden talent—gymnastics. Nick and Mia have instant chemistry, but it does him little good. If Mia’s zero dating rule weren’t bad enough, the team treats him less like boyfriend material and more like one of the girls. Breaching the friendzone will be much harder than he thought.
Content: This book contains kissing along with limited/mild swearing and minimal inuendo/crude humor. No explicit language or references to sex.
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I loved this YA book and the way it looked beyond the surface to what deeper issues the teens were facing. Nick is not just a typical football player- he has hidden skills of gymnastics abilities that he enjoys more than being a benched quarterback, but even more importantly- he is a genuinely nice guy. Aren’t those the best heroes? I loved watching him come out of his shell as he does his best to subtly pursue Mia and learn more about himself as he defies the social norms of his school and expectations of his grandfather/coach. Mia is a bit of a doormat in the beginning, but thanks to some overly helpful friends and new relationship with Nick, she also discovers her inner strength and experiences a good amount of growth. A fun book with dialogue and narration that felt authentic (several laugh out loud moments!) and kept me interested in the emotions of the characters.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)
Following his dreams and not his family’s. Nick is a second string quarterback with a father and grandfather to follow in their footsteps. He’s secretly loves a cheerleader since his freshman year and watched her date the wrong guys. His friend jocks that he should try out for cheerleading instead of football since he’s done gymnastics before. But if he’s a football player her in the friend zone but doesn’t want to be. She likes him for along time but he’s in the friend zone but how can they come together to be more? Will he do football or cheerleading?
I loved this story line! I loved the characters and the relationship with the hero and heroine! It was a delightful read and I flew through it! Can’t wait to let my teen read it! AND my friends! It made me smile from start to finish…even when it was stressful! I just loved it!
Overall, this book is really cute! I enjoyed Nick and Mia as a couple—and I loved that Nick wasn’t your typical alpha male. He definitely didn’t fit the mold of most YA heroes, which I appreciated.
The book is written well and contains a few twists I wasn’t anticipating. The romance is pretty swoony, and it was easy for me to root for Nick and Mia. I did wish that Mia wasn’t such a doormat (not in regard to Nick, but pretty much with everyone else in her life). She did learn to stand up for herself, but it took her much longer than I’d hoped and involved a pretty major deception. There was also a little more mild swearing and innuendo than I was anticipating (the author helpfully includes a content note on both the Goodreads and Amazon listings; even so, I was surprised at the amount of innuendo). I would definitely rate this book a PG-13 and would hesitate to recommend it to many of the teens in my life. For adults, though, this is an enjoyable escape. 3-1/2 stars.
Disclosure of material connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review, and the opinions expressed are my own.
One of the Girls by Robin Daniels was so refreshing! It’s been a while since I’ve read a High school romance that didn’t involve cheating or petty stuff like that. Also, I surprised myself by loving this as much as I did. I mean, Mia and Nick’s story sucked me in pretty much form its first chapter, and I’ve loved every second of it! I especially enjoyed their characters, and how they’re not your (stereo)typical jock and cheerleader. I found myself rooting for Nick from the beginning, and can I say just Wow to his ability in gymnastics? It was amazing! As for Mia, I loved her being sweet and the captain of the cheer squad, but also her not being perfect (i.e. the need to ban her from dating till she could learn to say no). Plus, the side characters were just perfect and added sass, humor and a touch of drama when needed (Stacie and Cass for Mia, and Sean for Nick).
Oh, and that ending was just perfect!! :3
Completely recommended! 4.5 stars. And believe me, this is way better than a cheerleader movie 😉
Cute high school romance told from two points of view with a lots of humor.
Nick’s grandpa is the football coach–and Nick sits on the bench. What no one knows is that Nick is an amazing gymnast and pretty good dancer. He’s tired of being the tackling punching bag. He’s also had a crush on Amelia since they started high school.
Mia is the head cheerleader and just got dumped by her quarterback boyfriend. Her friends won’t let her date until she can prove she won’t say ‘yes’ to every guy who asks her out.
Nick decides to try out for the cheer squad to try and get closer to Mia. To everyone’s surprise, he makes it. And the cheerleaders take him in as one of their own.
Before too long, Nick and Mia develop feelings for each other, but neither knows it nor talks about it.
It’s a cute, slow romance.
This is one of the more well rounded YA books I have read lately. Yes, much of the book occurs at school or at school functions, but we get the characters in home and family life as well. It provided a more realistic base for their motivations and desires.
These characters were so easy to like and so easy to root for. I really fell in love with Nick- how could I not? He is forging his own path through some pretty tough terrain. He’s pushing against social norms, standing up to his grandfather and putting everything into getting the girl of his dreams. He is determined, resilient and patient. Oh, and he is kind. I am such a fan of kind boys.
There is a slow burn romance here but I loved every minute of it. I could picture all the moments of this book in my head like a movie. (and some were really funny!) The story was engaging and I was really invested in everything from beginning to end. This was such a cute book! I can’t wait for the next one.
Content (from the author): This book contains kissing along with limited/mild swearing and minimal inuendo/crude humor. No explicit language or references to sex.
This book is on KU if you have that!
The YA books I read typically have more depth than this one, which is a straight-out teen romance. I suspect I would have enjoyed this even more as a teen than as an adult.
Because Nick and Mia were such likable characters and the author captures so well the “does he/she LIKE-like me or not” angst of the teenage years, the story really grew on me. By the second half, I was eager to see Nick and Mia become a couple.
A clean read, but not in a saccharine way, including a bit of common teenage innuendo.
Robin Daniels brings humor into the teen crush in this sweet high school romance. Full of angst, friendship and miscommunication this book is fun through and through.
What happens when a second string quarterback joins the cheer squad? He becomes “One of the Girls”.
Nick has been crushing on Mia for years. When he finds out cheer tryouts are coming up he decides to check it out. He’s done gymnastics his whole life so maybe this is his chance to get to know her. There are two problems—his Grandpa is the football coach and when he makes the team, he’s stuck in the friend zone.
Mia has always been popular and never lacked a date. The problem is she’s a pushover and doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so she dates all the wrong guys. She’s never dated a guy like Nick, but she finds herself thinking she’d like to. Too bad she’s squarely planted in the friend zone.
This book was given to me courtesy of the author through “Clean Wholesome Romance.” This is my honest review.
Sadly I was never on the cheerleading squad in high school, but I was apart of the marching band and drill team, and what I fondly remember is the camaraderie. Reading One of the Girls made me feel nostalgic, bringing back some good memories and making me wish I could go back in time and relive that carefree time in my life.
From beginning to end, this book is utterly charming. Watching sweet, lovable Nick go from the football sidelines to the cheerleading squad, staying true to himself, and fighting all the naysayers, is refreshing, not to mention makes you fall head over heels in love with him. Sweet Mia might be his original motivation for joining the squad, but Nick’s choice has a positive, yet unimaginable domino affect that brings about some interesting changes.
The dynamic between the characters is entertaining and made me wish I could’ve been apart of their group, especially at the football games. There was a little bit of tension, and a touch of drama, which was perfect and expected, and though predictable it was such a fun read and makes me excitedly anticipate the next book in the series!
*I have reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All opinions are completely honest, and my own.
I really liked the slow burn and the time it took for the characters to establish a friendship first before a relationship. I also really liked that we got to see the family life of the characters and the work life as well, that not everything took place at school, giving the characters a balanced life that greatly appealed to me.
I always enjoy first person narrative as it feels more personal and as though we can get into the person’s head, seeing their thoughts. The characters were great and varied. It wasn’t too long. It was engaging and moved at a good pace.
I loved the originality of the storyline and I felt a personal connection as well since my daughter did cheerleading for five years with a special needs team with only one boy on the team as well. It was really great to read about a different sport other than football, baseball, or hockey… especially from this perspective!
When the second-string QB quits football to try out for the cheer squad…
… hilarity ensues! 🙂 I loved this premise, and the story did not disappoint.
I adore Nick and Mia, and it’s great to see them both learn to stand up for themselves. I love the supporting characters, too: Sean is a great – if slightly annoying – goofball of a BFF, and the cheer squad is a lot of fun to be around.
I like both Nick and Mia’s moms, especially Nick’s mom is one formidable lady!
One of my favorite quotes from Nick’s POV:
“I was now officially convinced that girls had no clue what they wanted or what they were feeling.”
Yep. You got that right. 😀