‘Waiting on the Sidelines’ by Ginger Scott was an enjoyable read. It followed Nolan, and her crush, Reed, through all four years of high school. There was no shortage of all the issues that high schoolers are apt to deal with, from underage drinking to sexual encounters to bullying and emotional torment – sometimes self-inflicted and other times not. Nolan was a typical girl, despite being characterized as having been a tomboy prior to starting high school. Her crush on Reed was the front and center plot that wove its way through the entire novel.

Just like Nolan was a typical girl, Reed was a typical guy. He wasn’t big on letting her know how he felt, and when he did, the way in which he would switch back to seeming like he never said or did anything to lead her on was frustrating to no end. Their relationship had plenty of twists and turns which kept me interested. Even though I was not keen on Nolan giving Reed second, third, fourth, and even more chances than that, not just to be with her, but to have the chance to be with her, aggravated me, but I do understand the emotional turmoil that a teen girl can go through liking someone and waiting not so patiently to find out how he feels about her. The fact that she knows he isn’t treating her right doesn’t stop her from liking him – at least not completely. It may not seem right, but Ginger Scott hit the nail on the head with how Nolan acted and felt. After all, it’s not so easy to let go of feelings that you’ve held on to for what seems like forever.

One of the only reasons I would give it 4 stars out of 5 instead of the full 5 was because it took me forever to get through. It was quite long for the content within it. There was a lot that could have been taken out of the story, and the plot would have still played out in the same way. The other reason was that, even though I enjoyed how the story detailed Nolan’s entire high school career, I felt as though ninth and tenth grade meshed together in such a way that tenth grade turned into kind of a blur in terms of remembering what happened during that year, besides a few select details.

Overall, ‘Waiting on the Sidelines’ was a worthwhile read that captivated my emotions and made me eager to read on. I’m looking forward to reading ‘Going Long: Waiting on the Sidelines 2,’ even with my qualms out in the open.

You can find ‘Waiting on the Sidelines’ by Ginger Scott here: http://amzn.to/1KYp00Q