Until Friday Night (The Field Party #1) by Abbi Glines - Reshelved Books

Oh hey guys, guess who's back with another review!

That would be me.  Yes, yes it's true.... I have two book reviews for y'all this week.  I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.  

Fun fact: I was very excited to share this review with MB.  As soon as he saw the title AND the cover art of the book, he gave the following potential diagnosis of the book (truth be told, he was pretty spot on!): 
"Let me guess... It takes place in Texas. It's a love story about a football player and a girl, who's not a cheerleader, she's not popular, she's a band geek and they date. The book will end with the QB breaking up with the girl so he can date a cheerleader".  Did he stereotype based on a title and a cover? Yes, yes he did. I made sure to explain to him that I believed "Until Friday Night" was the title because West and Maggie would at first speak with each other on Friday nights after the games.

Well MB's guess was right about the book taking place in the South; the state that he guessed was close yet so far.  He guessed that it would take place in Texas- the book is actually set in Alabama. 

Until Friday Night (The Field Party #1) by Abbi Glines is well, the first book in the Field Party series.  The book was published several years ago and since then, other books of the series have been released.  

The list of the books in this series are the following:
1. Until Friday Night
2. Under the Lights
3. After the Game
4. Losing the Field
5. Making a Play (coming August 2019)

I would say that this book tackles some heavier stuff - the loss of a parent(s).

Maggie witnessed the murder of her mother by her father.  West is witnessing the slow death of his father from cancer.  Both teenagers are navigating their grief with the help of one another.  Maggie lost her mother two years prior but that doesn't make her challenges any different from West, who is living in the now with his loss.

Through the bond that they share, West and Maggie are both able to heal. Maggie does something that she didn't think was possible.  In fact, no one thought that she would be able to do what she did: talking again.  It was said early on the story, that Maggie hadn't spoken to a soul since she spoke to the police 2 years before about what had happened to her mother at the hands of her father.  Maggie left that if she didn't talk, then she wouldn't have to testify against her father.  Her fear was that once she started to talk, she would have to talk to the police again and stand as a witness to her father's trial.

But West, West changed all of that for Maggie.  He was lost and hurting just like her.  She felt comfortable enough to talk around him, to listen to his concerns and his sadness.

What did I like about this book? 

I liked how it dealt with something real.  Not just that it dealt with losing a parent and grief but it dealt how everyone is different in handling a traumatic experience.  Maggie's traumatic experience caused her to lose her voice.  West was handling the stress before his father's death by drinking and sex. (Which is a heavy for a teenager to deal with pain, in my mind).  West also had a tough time getting and keeping his anger in check; this is was something that more assumed and mentioned then it was shown.

There wasn't too much fluff in this story.  It wasn't like there was a torrid teenage love affair when Maggie and West first kissed.  They didn't get crazy caught up.  They didn't develop this relationship that came in like a hurricane.  Nope, nothing like that happened. Maggie had to step back from West because she didn't want to feel like she was enabling anymore. (To me, that shows maturity.  There are people who are much older who can't find the strength to step back from a toxic relationship (not that I'm saying West and Maggie were toxic!)).

What did I not like about this book? 

West. Haha. He was the classic high school football star (MB said that sounded like West's character was the running back?).  


Spoiler is coming at you in 3....2....1....

MB was right, West and Maggie did break up.  They did end up getting back together though.  That was something that I didn't have a problem with.  Will I read the remaining books in the series? I'm not sure yet... we'll all just have to wait and see!

The ending wasn't something that I would have predicted.  I liked it, I would have liked to know what the note to Maggie from her father would have said but I did like the ending.  When everything is said and done, I would give Until Friday Night 4 coffee beans out of 5. 

- Jillian