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mcoppadge07's review
3.0
I received this book via a Goodreads giveaway courtesy of William Morrow.
This is the beginning of the blurb for this book. "The heart of Friday Night Lights meets the emotional resonance and nostalgia of My So-Called Life in this moving debut novel about tradition, family, love, and football."
Now this is totally misleading. Football plays a role in this novel but not a super big one. Maybe about 25%, maybe. Also I don't know where tradition plays a role in this novel as well.
I wasn't super impressed with this book but I liked it well enough to get through it. There were parts that I enjoyed but overall I was kind of disappointed after reading the description and then reading the book. Dean drove me nuts. Without dropping any spoilers... yes he's gone through a huge tragedy but the way he does some things after the death of his wife was just not right. He makes a change with his coaching life that I really liked and was very happy about that. However the way he handled certain things made me want to slap the guy and tell him to wake up. I really enjoyed reading his daughter Stephanie's parts. Her POV is part of the reason I kept going. She was real, honest and relatable and so were her younger brothers.
This is the beginning of the blurb for this book. "The heart of Friday Night Lights meets the emotional resonance and nostalgia of My So-Called Life in this moving debut novel about tradition, family, love, and football."
Now this is totally misleading. Football plays a role in this novel but not a super big one. Maybe about 25%, maybe. Also I don't know where tradition plays a role in this novel as well.
I wasn't super impressed with this book but I liked it well enough to get through it. There were parts that I enjoyed but overall I was kind of disappointed after reading the description and then reading the book. Dean drove me nuts. Without dropping any spoilers... yes he's gone through a huge tragedy but the way he does some things after the death of his wife was just not right. He makes a change with his coaching life that I really liked and was very happy about that. However the way he handled certain things made me want to slap the guy and tell him to wake up. I really enjoyed reading his daughter Stephanie's parts. Her POV is part of the reason I kept going. She was real, honest and relatable and so were her younger brothers.
shallihavemydwarf's review
4.0
This is a very low-key powerful book about a family reeling from tragedy. It's not about answers, just processes of grieving and blaming and moving on. I found this book very empathetic in constructing its mostly conservative characters while avoiding preachiness.
Friday Night Lights is the most obvious comparison, but its very apt. However, I was surprised and relieved that Dean gave up his football coaching job so early in the narrative; I had to power through the early episodes of FNL to get through the heavy football emphasis. In contrast, Dean's work with the cross-country team is both fascinating and heartwarming.
Friday Night Lights is the most obvious comparison, but its very apt. However, I was surprised and relieved that Dean gave up his football coaching job so early in the narrative; I had to power through the early episodes of FNL to get through the heavy football emphasis. In contrast, Dean's work with the cross-country team is both fascinating and heartwarming.
fennelandfiber's review
4.0
I feel as though the idea of what this book is about was sightly misleading. However the book was written very well, yet the character development felt lacking in some places and rushed in others.
fennelandfiber's review against another edition
4.0
I feel as though the idea of what this book is about was sightly misleading. However the book was written very well, yet the character development felt lacking in some places and rushed in others.
abookishaffair's review against another edition
4.0
I grew up in the county over from where "Home Field" takes place and I started high school in 1999 so I was excited to get a look at a world I knew through this book. Aside from the familiar setting, this book has a really good family drama at its center. Dean is his small town's football coach. His wife was the beauty queen. They have two kids that seem like they're on their way to success. It was an all-American story until Dean's life and the life of his kids is shattered when his wife commits suicide. Each person will have to find their own way to pick up the pieces.
The story mostly focuses on Dean and his daughter, Stephanie, who is desperate to get away from her small town for Swarthmore. I loved the way the author divided the book between these two. Dean is trying so hard not to show what a hard time he is having with his wife's death. I really liked how the author was able to get inside his head and show a really fascinating character that has more going on inside than he would ever admit. I also really liked Stephanie's character in the book. She is on the cusp of being an adult but has so much turmoil rolling through her due to her mother's death.
This is a family that I will be thinking about for a long time. I really felt close to them throughout the book. The author really captures realistic emotions throughout the book so that the characters felt like real people to me!
The story mostly focuses on Dean and his daughter, Stephanie, who is desperate to get away from her small town for Swarthmore. I loved the way the author divided the book between these two. Dean is trying so hard not to show what a hard time he is having with his wife's death. I really liked how the author was able to get inside his head and show a really fascinating character that has more going on inside than he would ever admit. I also really liked Stephanie's character in the book. She is on the cusp of being an adult but has so much turmoil rolling through her due to her mother's death.
This is a family that I will be thinking about for a long time. I really felt close to them throughout the book. The author really captures realistic emotions throughout the book so that the characters felt like real people to me!
kbf4's review against another edition
4.0
(3.5 stars) I won't recap the plot of this book, just give my opinion on what I thought. First of all, I dare anyone who has watched the Friday Night Lights series not to hear the voice of Coach Taylor every time Dean is speaking. When I first read the description of Home Field, I was hoping for more Friday Night Lights drama, but for me it felt a little short. I enjoyed the characters of Dean and Stephanie, but was hoping for a more fully developed cast of characters. The book is set about 3 months after Nicole's suicide and really focuses on the ramifications that act had on the husband and children left behind. A good solid book, but for me it fell short of great. A huge thank you to Goodreads and William Morrow for the advanced copy!
perri's review against another edition
4.0
I can sure see the stated resemblance especially to Friday Night Lights -an understated but powerful rendition of a family torn apart by tragedy. It made me reflect on mental illness, specifically depression and suicide, and how it impacts loved ones and causes unintended reverberations.
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