Ugh, the Field Party series gets worse with every book, and Losing the Field is no exception.. I’ve mentioned in many reviews that I am a former fat girl, so I should really be able to identify with Tallulah, who loses a large amount of weight after overhearing a mean remark. But I really just wanted to shake Tallulah so many times. How could someone so smart be so incredibly naive? What kind of person is Nash to only notice Tallulah when she’s thin? I actually liked the first book, but the feminist in me is seriously annoyed after reading this.
SERIES: Field Party, book 4
PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse
PUBLICATION DATE: August 21, 2018
ISBN: 9781534403895
PAGES: 336
SOURCE: Edelweiss
GENRE: romance
SETTING: Lawton, Alabama; present-day
GIVE IT TO: HS
SUMMARY OF LOSING THE FIELD
On the last day of their junior year, Tallulah’s crush Nash Lee laughs at a comment his cousin makes about Tallulah’s weight. Every day since, Tallulah has walked five miles and lost a lot of weight. Now, school has started, and no one recognizes Tallulah, who is out to make Nash sorry for laughing at her. But she doesn’t realize that Nash has also had a summer of changes. Once a big star on the football field, Nash now walks with a limp after a leg injury.
REVIEW OF LOSING THE FIELD
I don’t have a lot to say about this one. I didn’t like it. Abbi Glines should stick to writing new adult romances. I have read all four Field Party books (what’s out so far), and they seem to be getting worse with each installment. Here is a list of things that bothered me about Losing the Field:
- Simple, choppy writing, similar to what you would see in a hi-lo book.
- Overuse of “I” to begin sentences.
- The idea that fat girls are inherently lonely or do not have any friends.
- How long is their summer break? Tallulah was so overweight that she was an outcast for her entire school career. No one recognizes her when school starts. Let’s say Tallulah has lost 50 pounds, from 180 to 130. If her summer was 12 weeks long, that’s more than 4 pounds/week lost. And Nash injured his leg a few days into summer. Is 12 weeks (or less, since he knew about it during the summer) long enough for doctors to determine that a 17-year old boy will “never play football again?”
- The idea that a girl loses weight only to show up a boy who laughed at her.
- Tallulah is often described as “sweet” and “innocent.” I would have preferred to see her described as “strong” and “independent.” Tallulah is too passive, too weak, too forgiving.
- Nash is an asshole, and Tallulah is better off without him.
- Side stories. The teacher-student relationship was a dumb plot line that makes Tallulah look ridiculously naive. Haegan appears and is gone quickly. What was his purpose, and why couldn’t he be someone Nash was already close with from school, rather than a new student/YouTube star?
- Nearly everyone has a non-traditional name. Tallulah, Nash, Haegan, Ryker, Asa, Blakely. And one poor girl simply named Pam.
- All the girls at school are just awful.
- Slut-shaming.
- Tallulah and Nash are underdeveloped as characters. I did not care about either of them, and I did not feel their relationship.
…and a couple of positives:
- Thankfully, no possessive relationship behavior in this one.
- Significantly less football and beer can-crushing in this one.
THEMES: teacher-student relationships, football, death/grief, bullying, losing a lot of weight, appearance transformation
THE BOTTOM LINE: I don’t know why I keep reading this series.
STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: I have no plans to get this one.
RATING BREAKDOWN
- Overall: 2/5
- Creativity: 1/5
- Characters: 1/5
- Engrossing: 2/5
- Writing: 1/5
- Appeal to teens: 3/5
- Appropriate length to tell the story: 3/5
CONTENT
- Language: high; includes lots of F-bombs
- Sexuality: medium; some kissing, one kissing scene is topless (M/F)
- Violence: mild; bullying and slut-shaming
- Drugs/Alcohol: mild-medium; teens drink beer at a party; marijuana use
PROOF THAT FAT GIRLS CAN HAVE SOCIAL LIVES
