The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

I hate it when people make fun of me and it turns out they’re right. I couldn’t go into high school without a better level of academics and not knowing the in town program and it’s people and coaches. I’ll tell you why in a few words: Soccer program (as in, ours was nonexistent and I was REALLY GOOD) and academics. I bet you’re asking why they pulled me out. The kids were very kind, very well brought up for a public school, so it should come as no shock to you that when my parents ripped me out of that happy (and horrible academically wise) school away from all my friends just as I was getting my braces and figuring out who I was (thanks mom and dad, really), I had trouble finding my place at the elite schools in town. But, hey, I grew up in the country, and I went to a school where driving your tractor there wouldn’t raise eyebrows.

And not everyone runs into this problem, I know that. Think about it-No, I’m not a farmer, and no, I wasn’t totally socially awkward ever, but I had trouble finding my voice. D.J.’s voice is one that, while a little different at first, is one that I think many young girls could relate to. This book, while funny and outwardly mocking in and of itself, was also surprisingly deep, full of values that aren’t always put first in a teenager’s life. It sucked even more than it had before Brian showed up, because now I knew it. (okay, I was guna use that GIF anyway because duh, friends, but it just worked out so well 😉 )īasically what it came down to was that my life sucked. What’s a girl to think when she sees this? Oh well, guess it’s a moot point…īecause this book was fabulous. With a blue sky in the background and named after a restaurant I love.

Really!! Swear!! But come on…look at this cover. I swear, I swear to you….I am not a snob. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say. Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. Why her college-football-star brothers won’t even call home. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth.

Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn’t so friendly anymore. Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.

The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock