This book covers some pretty heavy subjects, but never felt preachy. This is probably because D.J. is just such a great narrator, but there were also some pretty funny moments to balance it out. I think Win injury was handled well but I'm not disabled, so maybe I'm not the best person to make that judgement. If you like coming-of-age novels, this series will probably be right up your alley. ( )

2nd book of the "Dairy Queen" trilogy. Not quite as good as the 1st book, but still very good. I decided the author has the main character talking kind of like Junie B Jones, which may be off-putting for some readers. Still a very fast read - one day or less. This book focuses less on DJ playing football which I found disappointing. ( )

"The Off Season" almost feels like two books, because the focus of the book abruptly makes a 90 degree turn about halfway through.
The first part is mainly a continuation of "Dairy Queen." D.J. Schwenk, the girl who plays linebacker on the high school football team, and her romance with Brian, the quarterback of the rival team.
Then, suddenly, halfway into the book, D.J.'s older brother, Win, who play college football, suffers a serious injury during a game. He may never walk again. The entire focus of the book goes to that story. In a literary sense, this bothered me. The injury wasn't foreshadowed, it just came out of the blue and changed the aim of the book. But then I thought, maybe that was the point. Because in real life, when some devastating event like that happens, of course it is always out of the blue. And it totally changes the course of the life of the injured person, but also that person's whole family. So maybe it was just as it should be.
D.J. is a great narrator. A strong, but sympathetic character. ( )

The first book I ever read where I finished it and said, "what the...?" Not really even worth one star. ( )

Audiobook narrated by Natalie Moore. The likable D.J. returns in this sequel to "Dairy Queen." She may describe her family as not the type to communicate much with each other but the book portrays well the warmth and closeness of the family as they rally around the injured Wyn. I liked how the narrator leaned into a Midwestern accent for this; it gave an extra dimension to the story. ( )