The Off Season

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Heartwarming tale starring sporty teen girl.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there is discussion of girls being lesbians, underage drinking, and dealing with a disability. There is also some teen kissing and romance.

  • Situations that test friendships, social standing, and a family are portrayed with honesty and integrity.
  • A football player is injured after taking a hit during a game.
  • A teen couple makes out; a lesbian couple is caught in bed, but were only actually sleeping. A mother is upset her daughter "can't keep her hands off" her boyfriend and fears she will get pregnant. A teen couple is accused of fooling around when one stays out all night.

What's the story?

D.J. Schwenk started off having a pretty good year. She and her best friend Amber were talking again, she was spending more quality time with Brian, and she was playing some great football for Red Bend High School's varsity squad. When a heap of trouble heads her way D.J. finds strength and courage to face some of the toughest things she and her family have ever gone through.


Is it any good?

 

In this follow-up to the popular Dairy Queen, Catherine Murdock really captures the essence of what it means to be a teen girl. A 6' tall girl linebacker, D.J's pretty unusual alright, but she is also honest, funny, hardworking, loyal, and so personable that every girl can find a little bit of themselves in her. The characters are a lovable bunch and readers will quickly fall in love with the whole Schwenk family.

Murdock's storytelling ability brings something really fresh and cool to the teen school genre. There's angst, but there is also strength that transcends many of the difficult situations.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about the importance of being a leader and a true friend. What personal strengths did each character portray? What weakness did they show? What strengths or weaknesses do you identify with or see in yourself?


This review was written by Terreece Clarke
Teen, 15 years old
December 4, 2011
 
dramatic holidays
this is a great book based on a girls life on a farm who is a footballer and her brother recieves an injury whilst playing football and she is sent tot look after him and be with him in hospital because her mum has injured her back. when he becomes bettre he takes her down to do some basketball training after she injured her shoulder and camn no longer play football

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Teen, 15 years old
April 5, 2009
 
LOVED this book!!!!!!!
This was an amazing book! Catherine Murdock is now one of my fave authors. I highly suggest you read the first book "Dairy Queen" before reading this one.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
July 21, 2011
 
Worth it.
This book is great for high school students. It is a really god book with a good message to all young girls. Its teaches you how to be a good role model and not be afraid to take your spotlight

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Teen, 15 years old
October 10, 2011
 
INTERESTING
i think this book is really good and interesting:)

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This review was written by Terreece Clarke
Author:Catherine Murdock
Book type:Fiction
Genre:School
Publisher:Houghton Mifflin Children's Books
Publication date:March 18, 2008
Number of pages:288
Hardcover price:$16.00
Paperback price:$8.99
Publisher's recommended age(s):12 - 12
Read aloud:12
Read alone:12

This review was written by Terreece Clarke
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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