Review Detail

I really liked D.J. Schwenk in Dairy Queen and I like her even better in Off Season. She is such a great character (and what a great name! Its perfect). Honest, true, conflicted, strong, weak&shes a girl Id like to know, though I cant say that we have a lot in common. Unlike D.J., Ive never been good at sports and I definitely have never played football.

In Off Season, D.J. is in eleventh grade. She and her best friend Amber are reconnection after a bit of a rough patch the year before (well, what do you do when you find out your best girl friend likes you a little more than you expected?) and she and Brian seem to be heading into becoming a real couple.

But are they really? Why wont Brian even talk to her in front of his other friends? Sure, theyve shared a few hot kisses, but thats about it. But soon, Brian is the least of D. J.s worries.

She gets injured while playing football and has to decide whether or not to keep playing, which might cause her to have to give up basketball (her best chance at a scholarship to college). And her mother injures her back and cant do anything around the house, leaving D. J. even more in charge than normal.

But then something really bad happens in her family; a true catastrophe and D. J. is the one that winds us shouldering most of the burden. She has to really grow up in a short amount of time because everyone else is depending on her.

This book is definitely a bit heavier than the first one, as serious problems beset D.J. on every side. But she really proves her mettle once again (and you thought she was a heroine for standing her ground and playing football with the boys in the last book!). I recommend this one for readers aged 12 and up. While the main character is a girl, I think boys could also appreciate this one (after all, theres lots of sports talk). And I really recommend it for any teen going through serious family issues they can see that they arent alone.