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Verdict: A big-hearted sapphic YA cheer comedy with a squad worth rooting for and a sharp line on local bigotry, held back by a romance that runs on assumption and miscommunication more than chemistry.
Best for: Teen and adult readers who want queer joy, found family and Bring It On energy first, and who can forgive a love story that moves faster than it earns and a bisexuality thread that never gets its proper conversation.
Heat level: ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5 — closed door; romance.io lists it without a steam rating, in line with a 14-and-up YA novel)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.6/5 — a 3.72 Goodreads average across 186 ratings, strong trade reviews, and a pointed minority report from bisexual readers)
Tropes: Secret relationship, dual POV, found family, cheerleading and competition, captain and new girl, fake-straight arrangement, queer community versus local bigots, siblings at a new school, first love.
Queerleaders by Olivia A. Cole and Ashley Woodfolk is a standalone sapphic YA sports romance from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, set on the competitive cheer squad at Oak Haven High — where captain Davie Cathee, ordered to prove she is not recruiting only queer girls, signs the new girl because she has a boyfriend, and then finds out Kendall Hayes is bisexual, newly single and very much her type.
It came out on 19 May 2026 and sits at a 3.72 average across 186 Goodreads ratings, with a starred review from the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books and positive notices from Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal and Shelf Awareness. The trade verdict is warmer than the reader one, and the gap sits almost entirely on one subject. Both halves of that split are worth understanding before you start.
What Is Queerleaders About?
Queerleaders is a contemporary YA rom-com with a sports spine and a political edge. It is set in a present-day American high school where a conservative student club, a school board member and a local podcaster all have opinions about a cheer team that happens to be almost entirely queer. The love story shares the page with squad logistics, fundraising and small-town culture war — one thread of three, not the whole book.
Davie is the captain who has built the squad into a safe place and carries every threat to it alone, which is both her best quality and the thing readers find hardest to sit with. Kendall arrives as the new girl with a younger sister, Nia, a recent expulsion and a boyfriend who does not last long, and Davie reads her as straight on sight. The chapters alternate between the two girls, which lets the book show the gap between what each assumes and what the other actually is.
What Makes This Sapphic YA Cheer Rom-Com Work
- The squad: The team and its found-family energy come up in more of the reviews I read than anything else. On StoryGraph, 91% of reviewers call the characters loveable and every single one tags the cast as diverse.
- The Bring It On DNA: Nearly half the Goodreads reviews I read name the film, and they mean it as praise — nostalgic, knowing, and finally allowed to be openly gay.
- Humour: StoryGraph readers tag it “lighthearted” (81%) and “funny” (57%), and at least one Goodreads reviewer reports laughing out loud at the squad banter.
- Community over villains: Readers single out the grassroots response to the bigots, and the fact that the hidden relationship plays out against a queer community that closes ranks rather than one that falls apart.
- Kendall and Nia: The sister relationship is one of the elements even the negative reviewers liked, and it gives Kendall a life outside the romance.
Book Synopsis
Oak Haven High’s varsity cheer team has a reputation, and it is not about their tumbling. Every girl who has made the squad since Davie Cathee arrived has turned out to be queer, the school has started calling them the queerleaders, and Davie — now captain — is proud of what that team has become. When an injury forces open auditions for a new flyer, the squad needs fresh talent before a competitive season that ends at Nationals.
Kendall Hayes needs something else entirely. She and her younger sister Nia have just been thrown out of their private school after a protest over the dress code, and trying out for cheer is part of the price of that. When a girl who missed the cut accuses Davie of recruiting only queer students, the complaint goes up the chain and comes back as an ultimatum: add a straight athlete to the roster or lose the funding. Davie sees Kendall at tryouts with her boyfriend and makes a decision on the spot.
The problem is that the boyfriend is on his way out, and Kendall is bisexual. Now the squad’s funding rests on a secret Davie never meant to ask anyone to keep, a local conservative club is watching for any excuse, and the girl who is supposed to be the team’s proof of fairness is the one Davie cannot stop thinking about. How long can Kendall play straight for the sake of the team — and how long should Davie let her?
My Review
The best thing about Queerleaders is how unembarrassed it is. This is a book about a squad of queer teenagers who are good at their sport, kind to each other and fully aware of what the adults around them think, and it lets them win arguments. The satire of the premise — a team accused of discriminating against straight people — is funny for about a chapter and then turns into something with teeth, because the book knows exactly how these fights go in real towns.
The second strength is the team itself. Cole and Woodfolk write an ensemble that readers actually remember, and the found family is not a backdrop to the romance so much as the book’s emotional centre. The dual POV helps here: Davie’s chapters carry the weight of protecting the squad, Kendall’s carry the outsider’s view of a community that absorbs her faster than she expects, and the sister subplot with Nia gives Kendall stakes of her own.
Where it struggles is the romance, and this is not one reader’s taste — it is the complaint that recurs most across the three-star-and-under reviews I read. At least five reviewers say some version of the same thing: not convinced of the depth, a lack of chemistry, the friendship reads better than the love story, too much insta-love. Around it sit the structural gripes. The conflict leans on miscommunication, and one reader points out that most of it could be solved by talking to any responsible adult. Davie’s refusal to let the team help tests several readers’ patience. And one two-star reviewer found the pacing jumpy, with key scenes skipped halfway through. StoryGraph’s 4% did-not-finish rate says most people still get to the end.
The expectation to reset is the one the marketing sets up. The trade coverage credits the book with taking on bi-erasure, and several readers say it raises the subject and then drops it: Davie’s assumption is never really addressed, and a misconception about what bisexual means goes uncorrected. If representation is what drew you, go in with that caveat; if you mostly want a cheer comedy, it will barely register.
My honest note: A warm, funny, genuinely affirming team book with a romance that is the weakest of its three threads. If you read YA for the love story, this will feel thin. If you read it for queer joy and a squad worth cheering for, it delivers exactly that.
| Element | In Queerleaders |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Davie Cathee & Kendall Hayes — lesbian cheer captain and bisexual new girl, secret relationship |
| Core tropes | Secret relationship, dual POV, found family, sports romance, fake-straight arrangement, first love |
| Setting | Oak Haven High — a present-day American high school with a Nationals-bound cheer squad |
| Heat level | 1/5 — closed door; kissing only, 14-and-up YA |
| Series | Standalone — a companion in spirit, not a sequel, to the authors’ Call Your Boyfriend |
| Content notes | Homophobia, bullying, outing, religious bigotry, transphobia, cursing; minor injury, fatphobia and infidelity |
How Spicy Is Queerleaders?
A 1/5, and that is a description, not a criticism. romance.io does list Queerleaders, but with only two ratings and no steam level assigned — it is filed there as young adult, sports and queer romance rather than as adult romance. The publisher’s stated reading age is 14 and up, and reader reports describe kissing and longing rather than anything on the page. The romance is chaste, the tension is emotional, and nobody I found flags anything beyond that.
The one thing worth knowing in advance is not heat at all but the arrangement at the centre of the plot: a lesbian captain asking a bisexual girl to stay in the closet for the team’s sake. At least one reader calls that dynamic uncomfortable enough to sour the romance. If you want the same closed-door register, She Drives Me Crazy and You Don’t Have a Shot sit at the same level.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a queer team book where the found family matters as much as the couple, you grew up on Bring It On, you like YA that takes on real-world bigotry without flinching, and you are happy with a sweet, closed-door first love.
You may want to skip it if: you need a slow-built romance with real chemistry, conflict driven by miscommunication frustrates you, you want bisexual representation handled with care, or heavy-handed political commentary pulls you out of a story.
In short: a squad worth cheering for and a love story that never quite catches up with it.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
There is no viral moment here and no slow indie build — this is a traditionally published title that arrived with full backing. The Amazon listing carries a starred review from the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, notices from Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal and Shelf Awareness and blurbs from Ashley Herring Blake and Kelly Quindlen. Reader numbers are still modest four months in: 186 Goodreads ratings, 131 StoryGraph reviews at 3.83, and just 11 ratings on Amazon at 4.4. I could not check Reddit or TikTok from here, so I can’t tell you whether there is a BookTok following. The audiobook came out the same day from Simon & Schuster Audio, read by Tyla Collier and Shelby Summers across 8 hours and 44 minutes, and the one listener I found who comments on it calls the narration exceptional.
Prefer audio? Listen to Queerleaders on Libro.fm — the audiobook shop that supports independent bookstores.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The squad, first and most consistently — “found family” and “team” come up in more reviews than anything else, and readers describe the support between the girls as the book’s emotional core. Then the Bring It On connection, which reviewers treat as a promise kept rather than a marketing hook; one calls it a long-overdue fix for a film that was always queer-coded. “Cute” and “fun” are the recurring words. One reader finished it in a single sitting, and another praises the teen voices as believable. The political commentary divides even the fans — one four-star reader calls it heavy-handed and still appreciated how direct it is — and a minority find the romance outstanding, which is notable because it is the exact opposite of the loudest complaint.
What readers argue about and complain about: The romance, above everything. At least five reviewers say it lacks depth or chemistry, lean too hard on insta-love, or prefer the friendship between the two girls to the relationship itself. The bisexuality thread is the second theme, and the most pointed: at least four reviewers, including at least one bisexual reader, say Davie’s assumption that Kendall is straight is never properly addressed, and that a misconception about what bisexual means goes uncorrected. Kirkus calls the book “infectious queer joy”, and Booklist credits it with tackling bi-erasure. None of the trade reviews I found mention what those readers took issue with. Third: Davie herself. Several readers found her refusal to trust her own team exhausting, and one two-star reviewer calls the leads unlikable. Smaller notes: conflicts resolve suddenly, Davie’s relationship with her father is raised and dropped, the Gen Z dialogue tries too hard, and one reader doubts a Nationals-level squad would struggle to recruit. One Black reviewer mentions moments that nearly stopped her reading, without spelling them out.
The standalone question worth asking first: Queerleaders is complete in one volume, and Shelf Awareness describes it as a standalone follow-up to Call Your Boyfriend, the authors’ first collaboration. It ends the way a rom-com should, though some readers found the resolution arrived too suddenly to land. If you finish it wanting more of this duo, Call Your Boyfriend sits at 3.78 across 454 Goodreads ratings — slightly higher than this one — and Cole’s solo YA backlist is the next place to look.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Queerleaders a standalone?
Yes. It is a complete story with no sequel announced, and Shelf Awareness describes it as a standalone follow-up to the authors’ earlier collaboration, Call Your Boyfriend. You do not need to have read that book first.
How spicy is Queerleaders?
A 1/5, closed door. It is a YA novel for ages 14 and up, romance.io lists it with no steam rating, and readers describe kissing and emotional tension rather than any on-page sex.
Is Queerleaders lesbian or bisexual representation?
Both. Davie is a lesbian and Kendall is bisexual, with a queer, trans and diverse supporting cast. Several readers, including at least one bisexual reviewer, say the book’s handling of Kendall’s identity is its weakest element.
Is there a Queerleaders audiobook?
Yes. Simon & Schuster Audio released it on 19 May 2026, narrated by Tyla Collier and Shelby Summers, and it runs 8 hours and 44 minutes. The one listener review I found calls the narration exceptional.
Is Queerleaders like Bring It On?
Very much, and on purpose. The publisher pitches it as Bring It On meets She Drives Me Crazy, and nearly half the Goodreads reviews I read name the film, usually as the reason they loved it.
If You Loved Queerleaders, Read These Next
The obvious next step is She Drives Me Crazy, the other half of this book’s pitch, which runs a rival-cheerleader romance at the same closed-door heat with a tighter focus on the couple. For the team-sport side with a stronger romance, You Don’t Have a Shot turns a forced soccer co-captaincy into rivals-to-lovers. And if the dual POV and the matchmaking chaos are the draw, She Gets the Girl alternates between two college first-years in the same sweet register.
For more in this register, browse our lesbian YA books guide, the sapphic sports romance reading list, or the full Book Reviews collection.
The Bottom Line
Queerleaders sets out to be the openly gay Bring It On, and in its best stretches it is. The squad is a found family readers actually remember, the comedy lands, and the fight with the town’s bigots has real bite. It is also a romance that moves faster than it earns, a plot that runs on assumptions nobody questions, and a bisexuality thread that raises its subject and then drops it. Whether that trade works for you depends on which part of the book you came for — but a teen looking for a team that loves her, or an adult who wants to see queer cheerleaders win, will find plenty to cheer. Check Queerleaders on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Queerleaders ranks as a big-hearted traditionally published sapphic YA sports comedy — joyful and genuinely funny, held back by a thin romance, and best approached for the squad and the found family rather than the love story.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ 3.72 average across 186 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ Starred BCCB review, four more trade notices
- ✓ 4% did-not-finish rate on StoryGraph
- ✓ Romance and bi rep draw the criticism
Romance ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Sweet, secret first love
- ✓ Dual POV shows both sides
- ✓ A minority call the chemistry outstanding
- ✓ Five-plus readers find it thin or insta-love
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ 91% of StoryGraph readers call them loveable
- ✓ Squad is a memorable ensemble
- ✓ Kendall and Nia’s sister bond
- ✓ Davie tests several readers’ patience
Writing ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Banter gets laugh-out-loud reports
- ✓ Single-sitting readability
- ✓ Teen voices read as authentic
- ✓ Jumpy pacing, forced Gen Z dialogue
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ Queer community closing ranks lands
- ✓ Real-world bigotry given real weight
- ✓ Found family moves readers
- ✓ Miscommunication cycle dulls the stakes
Heat Level ★☆☆☆☆ 1/5
- ✓ Closed door, kissing only
- ✓ 14-and-up reading age
- ✓ No steam rating on romance.io
- ✓ Closet arrangement troubles some readers
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Standalone, nothing left hanging
- ✓ Bigots face consequences
- ✓ Community-driven finale
- ✓ Resolution arrives too suddenly for some
Re-read Value ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Squad banter rewards a return
- ✓ Two-narrator audiobook as a second pass
- ✓ Bring It On nostalgia pull
- ✓ Plot beats visible on first read
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