Offside

April 22, 2013
In this entry in the new Counterattack series, written at a fourth-grade reading level and starring members of the Fraser High girls’ soccer team, Higgins brings readers into the world of Faith Patel, a junior balancing the demands of schoolwork, the team, and a complicated home life. Faith already feels like a social outcast because helping out her mother and siblings takes up any free time since her father died. But things get particularly tricky when both Faith and a jealous teammate misinterpret their coach’s interest in Faith’s progress as romantic in nature. This slice-of-life story touches on a range of issues facing teen girls, while maintaining a breezy pace and delivering sharp, authentic dialogue and engaging soccer action. Simultaneously available: Archenemy, The Beast, Blow Out, Out of Sync, Under Pressure. Ages 11–up.

March 1, 2013
As a soccer player, student and frequent baby sitter, Faith feels beset with responsibilities. Higgins' story, a title in the Counterattack series featuring members from the Fraser High Copperheads soccer team, focuses on junior Faith. Her father's death a few years previously has profoundly affected Faith's family, both emotionally and economically. Faith often cares for her three younger siblings during the afternoons and evenings when her mother works late-night shifts as a nurse. Until recently, playing on her school's soccer team has been a refuge for Faith, but lately she has been feeling increasingly disconnected from her teammates. When her coach suggests switching her position on the team to playing midfield, it invigorates Faith's game. Faith also appreciates the additional instruction she receives from her coach during this transition, but this also leads to resentment from Caitlyn, an envious teammate. When Faith secretly develops an inappropriate crush on her coach, Caitlyn takes notice, taunting Faith. Higgins adeptly reveals Faith's solitude: Isolated from her peers, struggling academically and with weighty family obligations, Faith is bereft of confidants. However, the swift resolution to the escalating troubles between Faith and Caitlyn and the tale's conclusion leave readers hopeful about Faith's future. Higgins' briskly paced tale, skillfully alternating the drama with the sports, will capture readers' attention. (Fiction. 12-18)

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