THE OFF SEASON

D.J. Schwenk, the first girl linebacker on the Red Bend High football team, returns to tell the story of her first season. Having spent the summer training—and falling for—the rival school’s quarterback, it’s bound to be an exciting one. But when first she and then her brother, starting QB for the University of Washington, are injured, gridiron success and romance take a back seat to pure survival. The looming failure of the Schwenks’ dairy farm comes to the fore, and D.J. realizes that a highly uncertain future lies before her. D.J.’s self-deprecating voice is just as distinct in this outing as in Murdock’s debut, Dairy Queen (2006), and the supporting characters, particularly her very quirky family, just as vivid. If this offering suffers somewhat from both sequel-itis and a diffusion of energy resulting from D.J.’s removal from the farm to assist in her brother’s recuperation, readers will forgive easily. D.J.’s personality is thoroughly endearing, and the choices she makes as she grapples with her future are both hard and deeply felt. Readers will root for both D.J. and a third installment with equal vigor. (Fiction. YA)