Book Summary and Reviews of One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller

One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller

One of the Boys

by Victoria Zeller

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Published:
  • May 2025, 344 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Grace Woodhouse has left a lot behind. She used to have a great friend group, an amazing girlfriend, and a right foot set to earn her a Division I football scholarship—before she came out as trans.

As senior year begins, Grace is struggling to find her place in early transition, new social circles, and a life without football. But when her skills as the best kicker in the state prove to be vital, her old teammates beg her to come out of retirement, dragging her back into a sport—into a way of life—she thought had turned its back on her forever. When a chance meeting cracks the door to college football back open, she has to decide how much of herself she's willing to give up for the game she loves.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"An intersectionally diverse cast—which includes Grace's taciturn yet supportive single father—helps the protagonist forge her own path and blaze a trail for others in this necessary debut." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A winning game of feelingsball." —Kirkus Reviews

This information about One of the Boys was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Victoria Zeller

Victoria Zeller is a trans writer born and raised in Buffalo, New York, where she still proudly resides. A former football player and lifelong fan, her initial focus was sports journalism before she made a sharp pivot to writing about queers who can't stay out of trouble. Her sportswriting can be found at Defector, while her manic minute-by-minute sports analysis can be found on Twitter at @dirtbagqueer. One of the Boys is her debut novel.

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