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Offsides: A story of romance, rugby... and chasing your dreams!

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The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams-Oprah Winfrey. Offsides by: PG Geldenhuys.

What do you do when your world as you know it changes, literally in the blink of an eye? In Offsides: A story of romance, rugby,... and chasing your dreams! By: P.G. Geldenhuys, Jimmy struggles to answer this very question.


One minute protagonist Jimmy Barnes is riding in the backseat of his family's car as they are on their way to a vacation in Betty's Bay, South Africa. The next thing he knows his entire family is dead in a car accident and he has become an orphan. Suffering from PTSD and heartbreak he goes to live with his father's estranged brother uncle Joe who owns an Italian restaurant. Even though he hasn't been around that much in the past, he does his best to be a good guardian and godfather to Jimmy.


As the story unfolds, Jimmy and readers are introduced to a whole new cast of players in this suspenseful tale of teenage angst, romance, and coming of age. Jimmy finds himself in not one but three different love triangles. He also becomes embroiled in a sports rivalry when the captain and several other team members of the rugby team he just joined single him out because of a competitive spirit of rivalry. But there are good times in his life as well. He makes new friends like Robby and his sister Jess.


Jimmy develops a crush on Lauren James a waitress at his uncle's restaurant. However, Sam the rugby team captain likes her too. He plots to eliminate Jimmy and get him kicked off the team. Then Lauren discovers that another waitress named Vicky is stealing and gets her fired. Vicky takes out her revenge by using Jimmy and the plot thickens.


If you are a lover of romance and teenage angst drama you are going to love this book. Between Jimmy and Lauren's on again off again relationship and Jimmy's quest for growth and discovery over the years, you never know if you are coming or going.


It's not easy being a teenager and maneuver through life. And just like life, the author introduces us to upheavals galore in Jimmy's world. He goes from riding in a Mercedes with his family to wearing second hand clothes to school. He's also learning to save up his money from working in his uncle's restaurant.


Geldenhuys manages to create a realistic viewpoint of the world from the eyes of a young man. I am glad he mentions the utilization of condoms (safe sex is always a plus).


Even after Jimmy graduates life doesn't get any easier. He's in love with Lauren but he finds himself working in one country while she's attending university in another. As the years go by Jimmy and Lauren have other relationships and live in other countries. While Lauren desires to get a PH.D Jimmy is tortured by the desire to be rich that his father instealed in him as a child.


I like the way the author incorporates current events into his character's lives. I don't know much about South Africa but a picturesque description is provided via the inclusion of culture, life, and society in Jimmy's highschool and interpersonal relationships. He also uses South African words (and thankfully definitions) as well. I rate Offsides: A story of romance, rugby,... and chasing your dreams! By: P.G. Geldenhuys 5 out of 5 stars for it's insightful view of youthful life. Warning this book is for young adults and up due to explicit language and sexual scenes.


Who will Jimmy ultimately live his life with? Will he, uncle Joe, Lauren, and the others eventually achieve everything that their hearts desire?



Reviewed by

Hi, my name is Wymanette L. Castaneda. I’m a great fit to be a reviewer on Discovery because I love to read more than I love to breathe. Books are like magic carpets that transport you to whole other universes. As a reviewer, I can share this information with others.

Prologue

About the author

Unfazed Adventurer PG Geldenhuys has dedicated a lifetime to transformational journeys. Whether it is through his tourism ventures Luxury Safaris Southern Africa and Shoshin Walks or his newly published novel Offsides... His passion is effecting change through the power of words, and nature. view profile

Published on August 18, 2021

Published by

140000 words

Contains graphic explicit content ⚠️

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Reviewed by