Offsides by Lori Z. Scott

Dani just wants to play soccer and have the best senior year ever, but she’s suddenly alert to the signs of a sex trafficking ring right in her own community.

Offsides by Lori Z. Scott. End Game Press, 2023. 372 pages.

• Reading Level: Teens, ages 15 and up
• Recommended For: Teens, ages 15 and up (and possibly younger; note considerations)

Summary of Offsides

Dani is starting off her senior year playing soccer, which she loves. And she’s good at it. Her best friend, Sol, is also on the team, but not because she loves soccer or because she’s especially skilled; Sol does love Dani, though, and is up for anything they can do together. Turn about is fair play, so when extroverted Sol wants to join the party-planning committee (decorations and people! SO FUN!!), she talks introverted Dani into joining (oh dear! decorations and people! MUST HIDE…). The conflict between their personalities and interests doesn’t result in a fight, but the two friends do end up confiding a bit less in each other as one throws herself into sports and the other into the party-planning, each giving token participation to the activity they prefer less.

To add to the hubbub of sports and parties and FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), senior year brings a host of social events and responsibilities, not to mention boys. The two friends have crushes, of course, and they continue to carpool together, group date, go out for milkshakes, and more.

Meanwhile, Dani has sort-of befriended a young girl in her neighborhood. She notices that the girl is often alone until one day, when she suddenly starts wearing makeup and there’s a man hanging around. Dani’s radar goes up; they’ve talked about trafficking in school. She doesn’t know who to confide in about her suspicions. What if she’s wrong? Who should she trust?

Spoiler alert: Dani herself gets caught up in the sex trafficking web, and she’s rescued thanks to a perceptive cop who’d been tracking one of the perpetrators—and, incidentally, looking out for Dani herself. Dani’s suspicions were well-founded, and she was right…about the young girl. But Dani was horribly wrong about who to trust. A new kid in school was much older than he advertised, and he’d been around the block a few times. He was getting drugs from the traffickers in return for seducing young girls and getting them into a lonely spot where the traffickers could swoop in.

Kudos and Issues in Offsides

First of all, my commendation to Lori Scott for tackling such a weighty and important subject. Sadly, all of our teens should be alert to the signs Dani was noticing, and they should be wary on their own behalf. Scott manages to cover some heavy issues in a book with a delicate touch. Dani’s faith, and that of her friends, comes across as genuine and not preachy. It’s an excellent undercurrent in the book.

My biggest issue is with (spoiler alert) the cop: this man exhibits textbook signs of a perpetrator. He’s a strange man sitting on the sidelines of a high school sports practice. He befriends a lonely young girl. He offers her candy. He gives her a spare cell phone. Um. No. This spare cell phone turns out to be a means of saving Dani’s life. But I would want to talk with any teen reading this and make sure he or she knew that the policeman’s behavior is not something to automatically trust. And I think an actual undercover cop might act differently.

All in all, this is an action-packed “thriller” that many teens will find compelling reading. It’s also thought-provoking and raises good questions about trafficking. I appreciate the faith base in this book for Dani and her friends. It’s a good starting point for discussing this issue as long as we make sure teens don’t start trusting random strangers who give them candy!

Considerations:

• Sexuality: In a book about sex trafficking, sexuality considerations abound. But Scott keeps the content matter of fact and relatively delicate, given her subject material. Dani is, of course, interested in one young man. And, it’s clear to perceptive readers what is probably going on behind-the-scenes with the young girl. But there is minimal description.
• Authority and Duplicity: As I mentioned above, I think the biggest consideration in this book is that the policeman comes across in such a stereotypically “dangerous” way; he represents many of the behaviors that we want our teens to avoid, particularly in an adult they don’t know!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

• Worldview/Moral Rating: 4.25
• Literary/Artistic Rating: 3.75

Read more about our ratings here.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: The Biggest Win is another book connecting sports with faith!
• Resource: If your teen is interested in this tragic trend, you might be interested in our Trafficking Books for Teens list.
• Resource: If your teen is more interested in other sports books, we have a list for sports, too!

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