The Homecoming War

By: Addie Woolridge

Narrated by: Tyla Collier

Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

When plunging enrollment forces two rival high schools to merge, two class presidents must work together to make the schools unite. But when a mutual crush emerges, they'll both have to figure out what they want and where their loyalties lie before they become the most hated people at school.

Meg Williams is on the way to making her dreams come true. As the incoming Junior class president for Hirono High School, all she needs are a few more As and an excellent college recommendation letter, then she can leave Huntersville, California, and her ghosts behind.

Or, at least she was on track until the school district decided to combine Hirono with their rival, Davies High School. Now, Meg is wandering the pristine hallways of Davies High, her life plan threatened by Hirono’s queen mean girl, Freya Allenson, and the maddeningly perfect Chris Chaves, Davies High School’s class president.

When it turns out Huntersville’s Golden Boy won't just step down, Meg begrudgingly accepts that they’ll have to work together for the year. Worse still, escalating pranks between the rival classmates and a developing crush threaten to throw Meg even further off course. As homecoming draws near, both Meg and Chris will have to decide where their loyalties lie.

©2023 Addie Woolridge (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"The perfect pick-me-up."−Booklist

A nostalgic masterpiece

This book brought me back to high school in all the best ways. The characters were cute yet profound past their years. The inter-generational storyline connected all walks of life and brought real life perspective on grief /love! Would definitely recommend!

I loved the unique setup and the sweet love story.

This was a great tandem read for me (an adult who loves YA) and my thirteen-year-old son! I loved the unique setup and the sweet love story. Note: I listened to the audiobook and the narration was amazing.

The Plot: When two neighboring high schools combine into one, warring factions emerge. The kids from Hirono High and from Davis High to NOT get along. The heroine, Meg, is especially bitter about the turn of events, especially after discovering that her hard-earned status as Junior Class president is now a shared position. She wants to hate Chris, her co-president, but he turns out to be annoyingly swoony. And the school needs their leadership to put an end to the rivalry and bring their two schools together...

I loved a ton about this story: Meg's friend, Riley was a major prankster who thought up some pretty dastardly ways for the Hirono kids to punk the kids from Davis. The overall spirit of back-and-forth competition was really fun. Chris's family was really cute and Meg (who struggles in her relationship with her mother, and who grapples with grief related to her late father) has some good breakthroughs that signify a real coming of age.