"When crossing paths with a stranger turns into something more."
Reviewed by Patti Loveday
Posted April 5, 2018
Young Adult
OFFSETTING PENALTIES by Ally Mathews is set in a Texas high
school where football reigns supreme. This young adult
contemporary romance story about a ballet dancer and a football
player will not disappoint. This is a story that follows
smoothly
from high school football, ballet, and both sides of the tracks
seamlessly without leaving out any of the juicy details. Senior year creates a buzz of activity for Garret who is the
captain of the football team. That buzz ranges from applying
for scholarships, playing football, and hoping to play college
football. He also manages to find time to work at his father's
yard. Isabelle or Izzy as she is called by her friends, is the
rich daughter of a politician. She lives with her father, two
dogs, and a housekeeper in one of the largest homes in town.
Izzy's mom died when she was younger making her even more
determine to go to college so that she can dance in a ballet
company. What happens when her audition does not go has
planned? Garret and Izzy went to the same school their whole lives. They
each hang out with a different group of friends. Somehow, they
do not know much about each other except that he blames her for
his best friend losing his scholarship to an art school when
they were in middle school. When their paths cross because the
football coach thinks ballet will help Garret's flexibility
they make a deal to help each other. What they do not plan is
getting closer and learning that they have more in common than
they once thought. Will this new-found friendship turn to
romance or will being from different backgrounds have an impact
on the outcome? Matthews has written a novel that is spot on when it comes to
Texas high school football. She has meshed together two
different group of high school teens making them see each other
for who they are and not where they are from. OFFSETTING
PENALTIES is a book that focuses on real problems that most
teens face making this a realistic life like read. The perfect
novel for anyone who loves young adult romance and football.
SUMMARY
Isabelle Oster has dreamed of being a prima ballerina her
entire life, so whenthe only male dancer backs out of the
fall production, she’s devastated. Without a partner, she
has no hope of earning a spot with the prestigious Ballet
Americana company. Until hot jock Garret practicing
stretches in one of the studios gives Izzy an idea, and
she whips out her phone. But does she really want this
badly enough to resort to blackmail? All-state tight end Garret Mitchell will do anything to
get a college football scholarship. Even taking ballet,
which surprisingly isn’t so bad, because it means he gets
to be up close and personal with the gorgeous Goth girl
Izzy while learning moves to increase his flexibility. But
Izzy needs him to perform with her for the Ballet
Americana spot, and he draws the line at getting on stage.
Especially wearing tights.
ExcerptIsabelle plowed through the mess and snatched a cloth tape
measure off a table, then went to the desk and picked up a
pencil and a pad of paper. “Okay, I’ll warn you now. This is
going to be awkward. I’ll try not to manhandle you, but this
is gonna feel a lot like an airport pat down, so be prepared.”“I’ve never been on an airplane.” Her eyes widened, but she didn’t comment. “Well, just be
prepared.” She poked him between his shoulder blades. “I
need you to stand straight. You’re taller than most dancers,
so we need to be accurate about the length… Of…the costume
pieces…” He stifled another laugh. The girl really needed to think
before she spoke. It was almost like she was nervous, but
there was nothing for her to be anxious about. She put her hand on his left shoulder and held the tape
while stretching it over to his other side. Her fingers were
warm against him. A shiver slid up his neck. He wasn’t used
to being touched. Knocked down and stepped on, yes. But skin
to skin contact, no. Something scratched his neck. “Ouch.” “Sorry. I needed a solid surface to write the measurement.
This is quicker than going to the desk.” “It’s nice to be useful.” Next, she measured from his shoulder to his waist, and again
pressed the pad of paper against his back. “Put your arms
out straight, please.” The tape tickled, but he held still, afraid of the
consequences if he fidgeted.Once that was done, she moved in
front of him to measure his neck. Though she was tall for a
girl, the top of her head barely reached his chin. Her
fingers skimmed across his neck and his stomach tightened.
Hopefully she was almost done. His was not a touchy-feely
sort of family, so the only kind of contact he usually had
with other people was either during school dances or on the
football field, and neither of those had ever made him crave
more. “All right, here comes the awkward part.” “That wasn’t it?” He closed his eyes and held his breath. “I’m afraid not.” She knelt next to him and measured from the top of his hip
to his shoe. That wasn’t so bad. Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. “Um, I need to
measure the inseam now.” He shook his head. Do not pass go, do not collect two
hundred dollars. She was not going anywhere
near…there. “Let me hold the top of the tape measure.” Without waiting
for her response, he took it out of her hand and held it
against the inside of his thigh and dropped the rest so she
could pick up the slack down by his ankle and record the
measurement. Except it wasn’t flat against his leg. Isabelle sucked in a deep breath and ran her fingers over
the tape, igniting every bit of skin from the inside of his
thigh down to his ankle. “All done.” He unclenched everything and let go of the tape, attempting
to collect what was left of his mojo.
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