Most Valuable Player

The cocky star QB and the team's sarcastic water boy. What could go wrong? A sports romance with humor and heart from the author of They Hate Each Other

Cameron Morelli is hot sh*t. Worse, he knows it. With a godlike physique and a position as his varsity football team's star quarterback, there's nobody he can't charm. So one might imagine his mortification when he's rejected by Mason Gray, the team's snarky water boy. To make matters worse, this disgrace is followed by Cam's coach benching him until he can get his grades up. Luckily, a reliable tutor steps forward to help Cam reclaim his dignity--the boy who just humiliated him.

For Mason, tutoring an airheaded jock is nothing but a distraction from a past he can't escape. What he doesn't expect is to find something worthwhile in their conversations--something softening in the ice between them. Nor does Cam expect that Mason's calm smile hides a harrowing story. As they slowly nudge through each other's steel gates, the dangerous realities beyond high school threaten their deepening bond.

But really, it's about football.

Author: A. M. Woody
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Published: 10/21/2025
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
ISBN13: 9780593695425
ISBN10: 0593695429
BISAC Categories:
- Young Adult Fiction | Romance | LGBTQ+
- Young Adult Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Football
- Young Adult Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings

About the Author
Amanda Woody is a metro-Detroit-based queer author. They graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in English and a certificate in creative writing. When not writing and reading happily ever afters, they can be found drinking caramel apple cocktails, playing Hades, or rewatching childhood shows with their siblings. You can follow them on Twitter at @AmandaWoody_.