The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

As soon as I finished Dairy Queen, I wanted to read more about DJ.  I HAD to know how things went with the football season and with Brian!  Fortunately, Catherine Gilbert Murdock obliged by writing a sequel that filled in a whole bunch of details.  [UN-fortunately, I forgot to actually post the review until more than a year had passed since I finished the book and merely saved it in my drafts.)

In addition to DJ's experiences on the football field and her relationship with Brian, readers learn more about the money troubles on the Schwenk Farm, the bullying that Amber [DJ's best friend] puts up with because she is lesbian, and an injury that threatens to sideline DJ from both football and basketball (which she has been counting on for a college scholarship).  When something truly terrible happens, DJ starts to put her own life into perspective and to realize that everything she has gone through is really not as bad as she made it out to be.

Happy Reading!