Staff Book Pick of the Week: The Off Season

This week's pick is The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (YA MURDOCK).

Picking up where The Dairy Queen left off, this is the story of D.J. Schwenk, football star, family caretaker, and potential girlfriend of Brian Nelson (quarterback on neighboring town's high school team). D.J.'s junior year seems to be headed in the right direction - she's finally on Red Bend's football team, her family members appear to be taking care of themselves without too much help on her part, and Brian seems genuinely attracted to her. But before D.J. knows what's happening, things get turned around yet again. The football season's not actually going that well, and just when she thought things were really happening with Brian, he disappears. To top it all off, a tragedy no one expected comes along to tear the Schwenk family apart, and it's up to D.J. to repair the damage. Is she up to mending everyone's fences again? Is she going to figure out what's really going on with Brian? And most important of all, will she be able to find her own path in the midst of all the chaos? Find out in The Off Season.