Offside

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Author(s)

Christina Diaz Gonzalez

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Mari Costa

Publisher

Scholastic

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

July 07, 2026

ISBN

978-1339023601

Buy This Book

For the first time ever, the Jackson Middle School soccer team is going co-ed--thanks to Nicky's determination. Now Nicky and Fabiola are on a team with Al, Palmer, Seba, and the rest of the boys . . . but that doesn't mean they're all on the same side. Team captain Al is going to do whatever he can to keep the girls off the team, just the way his father wants.

When Al and Nicky's rivalry threatens to tear the team apart, everyone's going to have to pick sides. That is, until Palmer looks into why Nicky joined the team, and he starts to realize that there's a bigger problem than what's on the field. . .

And maybe the only way to truly win is together.

With text in English and Spanish, Offside features the groundbreaking format used in Invisible, paired with engaging, accessible, and entertaining storytelling. This is a must-have graphic novel about soccer, friendship, and what it really means to work as a team.

Editor review

1 review

Good sportsmanship on and off the field

June 02, 2026 (Updated: June 26, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Palmer is an avid soccer player who has torn his ACL and is out for the season. Luckily, Coach Harris and Coach T of the Jayhawks understand how important the sport is to him, and let him tag along as a "manager". His teammate Al hates having girls on the team (blaming it on his Peruvian father and grandfather's adherence to the antiquated idea that girls shouldn't even play soccer), so tries to sabotage Nicky, who has quit the girls' team and joined the Jayhawks hoping it will better further her career. Palmer's neighbor Fabiola is new to the US and learning English, but is interested in being on the team as well. So is Seba, a boy in Fabiola's English language learners class who is also new to the US. When both Nicky and Fabiola both make the team, Al is worried that his grandfather won't be proud of him playing soccer when he visits. Al's father goes so far as to lie to Vovo about Al's game, claiming it was cancelled. Palmer is asked to write an article for the school paper about having girls on the team, to help everyone accept them. After talking to Nicky about her experience with the poor fields for the girls, the article takes a different direction that manages to make both Nicky and Al angry, but which gets picked up by the local paper. Al finds that there is a field nearby that is for sale, and has a plan to get it turned into soccer fields. He offers Nicky the chance to play the hero is she and Fabiola don't play in a game so that his grandfather can watch the game. This turns into an odd sort of publicity event that involves Seba bringing his neighbor who has a petting zoo, but pressure is put on the mayor to do the right things for sports in the town. Al's grandfather is more accepting of girls playing soccer than Al and his father expect, and the team starts to work together. There is a glossary of soccer terms at the back of the book, and a lot of dual language (Spanish/English mostly, but some Portugese) speech bubbles throughout the book.

Good Points

Both soccer and graphic novels are popular with my Spanish speaking students, so this will be a big hit. With the world cup taking place this summer, this is a perfect book to pick up for young readers who are obsessed with the event!

The coaches were the best part of this for me, because they modeled very positive behavior and encouraged the team to support each other and work together. Books like Greenwald's The Good Sports League series are becoming more common, so hopefully good sportsmanship will see a resurgence!

Fabiola and Seba's experiences with language are very true to life. Fabiola often uses her phone to translate her conversations, which I have seen students do, but I appreciated that her mother encouraged her NOT to rely on the phone too much. Having a lot of Spanish included in the book will help young readers to understand how hard it is to come to another country and have to pick up a new language!

Nicky is a complicated character who carries a lot of anger that comes from her personal life, and her desired career trajectory is something middle school students envision, and also adds to her frustration and anger. Palmer is fairly philosophical about being out for the season, but is still invested in his team. Gonzalez has clearly spent some time around middle school soccer teams!

It's been over fifty years since Title IX, and while the world isn't perfect, it still feels extremely antiquated for boys to complain that girls are on their teams. We've had girls on the football team at my middle school, and no one cared. I thought we were catching up, with books like Lupica's Triple Threat series or Green's Final Season, but just like the real world, I guess we are seeing backsliding in girls' and women's rights.

This is a good choice for readers who liked sports books centering on girls playing for boys' teams, like Marino's Iced Out, or who are interested in the experience of English language learners. The story was a lot of fun, so graphic novel readers will be sure to pick this one up.