Book Review: Offsides

Offsides is Lori Z. Scott’s Christy award winning* YA novel. It tells the story of Dani, a soccer loving teen, doing her best to feel confident both on and off the field. When her best friend Sol decides they need to make their senior year one for ‘trying new things’, Dani is kicked from her comfort zone. On one hand this novel is a typical teen narrative about friendships, crushes and anxiety. However it’s also more than that. Told from a deep first person perspective, with engaging dialogue and great characterisation, this book takes a close look at the issues and vulnerabilities of teen victims of human trafficking.  It also gently gives voice to Dani’s experience of faith and the encouragement God’s word can offer in difficult times. ​

One of the things I loved about this book was how the various themes worked together to create multi-faceted characters you could believe in. The main character Dani is quite possibly neurodivergent, but not labeled as such, and her relationship with her best friend Sol was one of the highlights of this story. The whole way through, I was waiting for the ‘mean girls’ moment, but Sol was a refreshing change. A loyal, devoted friend, Sol had Dani’s back the whole way through - even when Dani doubted. And I love this! It challenges the traditional narrative that popular, in-the- spotlight teens are expected to turn nasty. This friend stays loyal and loving, through it all! 
The faith themes are also set within a context of friendships. This time with Dani’s involvement in a lunchtime Christian club for athletes. When her friend Elijah commits to sending her Bible verses before her soccer games, she begins reflecting on these verses and reframing her thinking. The word of God therefore becomes a very real tool for helping deal with anxiety, reminding her of hope and God being at work in all things. 
As mentioned above, this novel takes a close look at human trafficking and I felt these ideas were very well communicated. While the reader is kept engaged in thinking through the issues as Dani learns about trafficking herself and begins to notice warning signs in another character’s life, Scott also demonstrates the insidiousness of trafficking by allowing the reader to witness Dani’s own vulnerabilities leading up to her own kidnapping. I would have liked to see more emphasis on the dangers of online grooming - a very real contributor to trafficking vulnerability that was implied but not really addressed by the text - but even without this, Offsides is an excellent anti-trafficking resource. Recommended!
Thank you to the author, Lori Z. Scott, for posting me a review copy while I was in the US!

​* Offsides was a tied winner of the 2024, Christy Award Young Adult Category.

All the details you need:
Title: Offsides: a novel
Written by: Lori Z. Scott
Publisher: End Game Press
Available from: Amazon or End Game Press

Having also written about human trafficking, I was keen to ask Lori a few questions about what it was like writing in this space. Here's what she had to say: 

Penny: Why did you feel trafficking in the US was an important theme for a YA novel?
Lori: I came to that conclusion in a roundabout way. My publisher asked me to write a second book in my YA series, but when I submitted my plot, they said it was too similar to one of their upcoming releases and asked me to come up with a new approach. I took my problem to my critique group, and one of the girls suggested I work human trafficking into the plot. And I said no. Like, immediately. No, I didn’t know enough about it. No, the topic was too horrifying to research. And no, I write humor, not headlines. How could I even approach that?
But God kept pressing me on this idea until I found my yes. Yes, I didn't know enough, but I could learn. Yes, the topic was horrifying, but housing it in fiction provided a vehicle to raise awareness in a safe and age-appropriate manner for the very audience who is often targeted by traffickers.  Yes, I could still use humor. (In fact, often the most profound insights in the book followed a period of levity.) And I could approach it more along the lines of the root cause that drives people to become vulnerable and fall into these situations—the need to feel like we belong and are appreciated and loved. The need to connect.
The more I researched to write the book, the more I realized what a huge problem it is and how easily youth can be trapped by it. And so many teens are simply unaware of the dangers. What better way to bring it to the forefront but through fiction, which provides a safe arena to explore the topic. 

Penny: What was the most challenging part of writing this story?
Lori: Really, the research was awful. There is so much dark in the world, and the statistics are staggering. I had to gear up my heart and mind each time I ventured into drafting the story. Fortunately, I was inspired by something C.S. Lewis once said describing the difficulty of writing The Screwtape Letters. When he crafted the story, he had to tap into the insidious mindset of an evil being. He described that world as one filled with “dust, grit, thirst, and itch.”  He waded through all that depravity so that he could point his audience to truth without having them have to join him in the filth. In that way, he served as a buffer to the reader while still raising their awareness. In the same way, I had to look into a world dominated by predators who dehumanize others, viewing people as a commodity to be traded, learn the facts, but then present it in a way protected the reader and offered hope.
And I think I pulled it off. The reaction from readers has floored me. Many of them latched on to the main character, Danielle Stephens. She loves sports and she’s witty, but she’s also painfully introverted. In Offsides, we not only see her desire to fit in but how awkward it is for her to connect with others. That push and pull of conflicting emotions is something many people can relate to. One asked, “How were you able to capture the anxiety and isolation of an introvert so accurately? I didn’t think anyone understood.” And, choking back tears, she admitted, “That was me. In high school. I was Dani.” In the end, I want to raise my readers awareness of the situation and to also provide them with hope by understanding they are not alone in their feelings.

Penny: Where can people find you online?
Lori: You can find me on socials or my website:
Instagram: @Stories.by.Lori
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lori.Z.Scott
Website: www.lori-z-scott.com ​