Review: Offside

 

Info:

Title: Offside
Author: M. G. Higgins
Series: Counterattack #5
Publisher: Lerner Classroom
Publication Date: April 1, 2013 (Originally published December 28, 2012)

Synopsis:

Between finishing late school projects and looking after her brothers and sister, Faith Patel barely has time to play soccer. And when she's at practice, surrounded by girls who can afford to play in club leagues, she doesn't even feel like part of the team. So when Coach Berg starts to give Faith extra attention, she feels . . . really special. It might be crazy, but suddenly Faith has a crush on her coach. Can she keep her head in the game? The situation gets worse after Faith's frenemy Caitlyn decides that Faith's getting special treatment. Will Caitlyn tell the rest of the team--and make Faith into a total outcast?

Review:

I didn't know this was a novella when I started it. I usually don't bother reading novellas because I find they often lack depth. I also didn't know it was part of a series, although I don't think I lost anything by starting with #5.

Offside wasn't a bad read, but neither was it very memorable. I did enjoy the soccer aspects and I also liked how important family was in this novel.

The 'romance' aspect of this one didn't do it for me. I know lots of girls develop crushes on teachers, but Faith went a little crazy with it. I mean, she was fantasizing about cooking him breakfast every morning! Also, the ending felt super rushed, which likely has a lot to do with it being a novella. 

This book had the potential to hit on some major issues, such as inappropriate relationships (such as teacher-student) and bullying, but it definitely felt like it stayed in a very 'safe' place and didn't push the boundaries.

Over, Offside was a quick ok read that I likely won't remember a few weeks from now. Read it if you're a soccer fan who likes novellas. Also, why is the girl on the cover white? She does not look like Faith at all!

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