Blog Tour: Raving Review of We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian

Title: We Are the Wildcats
Author: Siobhan Vivian
Publication date: March 31, 2020
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Sports

Synopsis:

A toxic coach finds himself outplayed by the high school girls on his team in this deeply suspenseful novel, which unspools over twenty-four hours through six diverse perspectives.

Tomorrow, the Wildcat varsity field hockey squad will play the first game of their new season. But at tonight’s team sleepover, the girls are all about forging the bonds of trust, loyalty, and friendship necessary to win.

Everything hinges on the midnight initiation ceremony—a beloved tradition and the only facet of being a Wildcat that the girls control. Until now.

Coach—a handsome former college player revered and feared in equal measure—changes the plan and spins his team on a new adventure. One where they take a rival team’s mascot for a joyride, crash a party in their pajamas, break into the high school for the perfect picture.

But as the girls slip out of their comfort zone, so do some long-held secrets. And just how far they’re willing to go for their team takes them all—especially Coach—by surprise.

A testament to the strength and resilience of modern teenage girls, We Are the Wildcats will have readers cheering.

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As a novel solely focused on a field hockey team, We Are the Wildcats alternates between six of the teammates’ perspectives. The book focuses on a 24-hour time period, and Siobhan Vivian masters writing this short period of time into a very steady paced story that seamlessly flows.

As a very character driven book, I loved that each of the field hockey players provide a definitive voice through each of their chapters. Not only is the story focused on comradeship, but we delve into each of the girls’ backstories, focusing on their relationship with their family, friends, and their toxic Coach. The story steadily unravels as each character’s thoughts, doubts, successes, and even worries about the upcoming season are revealed.

The main element that I loved about We Are the Wildcats was the focus on female friendships. As a team, these girls have each other’s backs on the field, but throughout the pages, they also begin escaping that individual mindset of “putting yourself first.” As the chapters unfold, we delve deeper into the characters being there for each other in and off the field. I love that they surpass stilted or lack of communication, which was often offhandedly implanted by their Coach. If you are fan of determined and fierce female characters that have each other’s back, I highly recommend that you add We Are the Wildcats to your TBR.

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Blogger Note: A huge thank to Simon Teen for inviting me on this blog tour and providing me a free copy of We Are the Wildcats to review.  All fangirling, statements, and opinions in this review are my own.