Lisa Reviews: Ginger Scott’s – “Waiting on the Sidelines”

Right before reading Waiting on the Sidelines, I had to let out a big sigh and a couple of eye rolls. I was sick and tired of the same old ‘love’ story where the popular guy (with all the beautiful girls he could ever want swarming around him) falls for the not-so-popular average girl. Not only that, but he completely changes his ways for her, and becomes this ‘really good guy’.

BORING! I’m done with that!

Waiting on the Sidelines was that…but SO MUCH more!

The popular guy is this story is Reed Johnson. He’s a star footballer in his small town and has a lot of pressure and expectations weighing him down. Not only was his older brother a star quarter back, but so was his dad.

The not-so-popular girl in Waiting on the Sidelines is Nolan. She’s a complete tomboy. She loves wearing her brother’s hand-me-downs and has never worn any makeup. Nolan doesn’t fit in. Unlike most of the kids who attend her high school, she doesn’t live in a big mansion; instead, she lives in a trailer at the end of a dirt road, and she drives an old beat-up car that she absolutely loves.

Reed is used to girls trying to catch his attention by doing the dumbest things, but those girls don’t include Nolan. While she does admit he is very cute, Nolan isn’t stumbling around to be near Reed. He quickly notices this, and it’s what attracts him to Nolan.

High school seems to be running smooth for Reed, but for Nolan it’s been a struggle. She had no idea just how hard high school was going to be…but there might be one guy who can make it all worthwhile.

It’s true that I had my doubts at the beginning of this book, but those were quickly thrown out the door. While this book may have the general underlying script that I described above, it was so much more.

Reed acted like a normal teenage guy. Yes, he did start changing slowly throughout the book, but not all at once. He still made mistakes, he was still fooling around with girls, and he still acted the same way he did before he met Nolan. It took quite some time (the book takes place over four years) for him to finally open up to Nolan.

On the other hand, Nolan puts all her love and trust in Reed, just to have her heart broken repeatedly over the four years of high school. She knows she’s lucky to have a guy like Reed because of his gentle side, but Reed quickly learns that he is even luckier to have a girl like Nolan.

Reed and Nolan were amazing characters. They were real and acted like normal teenagers would. But I also really liked Reed’s dad and his housekeeping lady. While Reed’s dad was rich, he didn’t let the money get to his head. His relationship with Nolan, even when she was going through a rough patch with Reed, was really sweet! I loved him. Reed’s housekeeping lady was the mother he didn’t have. She was there when he was sick, when he was hungry, and even when his dad was working.

This was one of the sweetest and most heart-breaking stories I’ve read in a long time! All the emotions and feels I had for Waiting on the Sidelines were absolutely crazy! I was all over the place and constantly rooting for Reed and Nolan! Reed knows how to be sweet, and knows how to take care of Nolan, which I really liked.

While the entire story was a crazy rollercoaster of emotions (and tears), the ending was perfect! I’m excited to read more of Ginger Scott’s writing!