Off Track is the second novel of Trinidadian Young Adult (YA) romance writer, Tamika Gibson. It features two teenage athletes in Trinidad who both have reasons for wanting to do their absolute best in Track through an Advance Training program funded by the government. For Kayla Francis, it’s a ticket to provide her family with a better life and for Joel de Freitas it’s to prove to himself and the rest of Trinidad that he isn’t like his father, a former track athlete who had disappointed his community and more importantly, disappointed his son by being an absentee father.
This book also heavily featured the cute romance between the main characters as they try to work out their own problems such as financial challenges, domestic violence, absentee parents, and working against stigmas. There are major themes of family life, community and politics showing that these two teenagers didn’t live in a vacuum. The reader is therefore able to observe the direct impact of these factors on their lives. Tamika really packed a lot of commentary in a 256-page book.
🏃🏾♂️💨 I cared about the main characters, Kayla and Joel, equally as their complicated relationships with their family members and friends as well as each other. Often YA romances don't usually have that balance well and end up being more coming-of-age type novels. It was nice to see serious and focussed Kayla being able to warm up to Joel and trust him. There’s also so much respect between them as athletes and chemistry between them as love interest. We see how they made each other better people.
🏃🏾♀️💨The track and field in this book was very well-written. I had heart palpitations waiting to see if they would qualify for the Olympics and to see where they would be placed in the CARIFTA games. It brought me back to my days when I did track competitively, and Tamika really captured the nerves and excitement of competition and team participation.
🎽 One of the things Caribbean readers look for in a book set in the Caribbean is the authenticity of the language. As with all Blue Banyan/Blouse and Skirts books that I’ve read so far, it was very realistically done, not just in the way Trinis speak but also in the way young Caribbean people interact, in general. Where else are you going to find people flirting by saying "you bathed" and having cute soca fete scenes? Tamika also brought out certain relatable quirks through Kayla’s character such as learning to dance through YouTube videos before going to parties so you don’t look ridiculous (yes, not all Caribbean girls were born with magical waistlines, some of us had to learn).
👟Kayla could have easily fallen into an "I'm not like other girls" trope but really, she's just a focused Capricorn queen that doesn't have time to enjoy being a teenager because she's trying to achieve her goal to take care of her family. Joel was sweet but also a little cocky. He has his little teenage angst going on which is understandable considering his relationship with his parents. This book is a great example of writing teenage angst in a way that won't annoy the reader.
🏃🏾♀️💨 The supporting characters and how they interact with the main characters, for the most part, was well written. They both have daddy issues but, both, for different reasons. Kayla’s father is a rich politician who keeps her existence in the dark, since he has a second family and it would have ruined society’s idea of what his perfect family, while Joel is abandoned by a father whose reputation is a constant presence. I love Joel’s Grandma. The cool Grandma living her best life but also great at giving advice when needed is starting to become one of my favourite tropes. I also love Kayla’s mother and daughter relationship. The mother actually talks and listens to her daughter, when she isn’t being overworked. Joel’s relationship with his mother on the other hand is complicated, to put it mildly. When Joel was younger, they moved to the United States together, but she sent him back out of fear of the state violence against black children which Joel couldn’t understand. This re-ignited his feelings of abandonment, yet again by another parent.
🎽The only thing I didn't like was the way Kayla's aunt, Aunty Jacqui, was written. She was experiencing domestic violence but there was no deep understanding of her situation. It was impossible for the reader to feel any empathy towards her. It was strange to see, with the more major characters being fully fleshed out, how Sammy, Jacqui’s abusive partner, and Aunt Jacqui were written in a less rounded way. There was no insight into how the relationship was before the abuse happened, no real motive or understanding of Aunt Jacqui's state of mind in that situation. When Sammy eventually died. She was the loudest mourner, pretending that everything was perfect. This seemed to me shallowly written and a repeat of the simplistic society-held message that victims of domestic violence don't have any sense to leave or that they are complicit in their abuse. This could be because whenever Aunt Jacqui made an appearance it was in Kayla's perspective. Kayla’s practical, straightforward thinking would just not allow her to have empathy with Aunt Jacqui, but it falls apart where we see her cold demeanour dissipate through other difficult relationships such as with her father. Notwithstanding this warming in other relationships, her views about Aunt Jacqui doesn't change at all.
From earlier in the book, we see that Kayla only interacts with her aunt out of cordial necessity.
"When I first learned about symbiosis in biology class, it reminded me of the relationship between Ma and Aunt Jacqui. This house was an asylum for my aunt, where Ma's comforting voice always awaited. Each sister held her hand out for the other in the best was she knew how. Built a scaffold around her when needed, so she wouldn't crumble and fall. I just wished they kept me out of it." Later in the book, Kayla just sees Aunt Jacqui as delusional which we see during Sammy's funeral where Aunt Jacqui tried to play off her abuse as "bad times" and hold Sammy as a prize in comparison to Kayla's mother failed relationship with her father.
👟There were two big moments that took each character literally and figuratively off-track. Though heart-breaking to read, they showed the importance of having the support of friends and family in challenging times. Kayla and Joel’s support system showed them that they don’t have to be perfect all the time, and when situations beyond their control disrupted their plans they were there for them, making it a heart-warming read.
However, I was more frustrated with Joel’s Off-Track moment which would have affected him being able to compete in the Olympic games. Unlike Kayla, we didn’t get a chance to see him recover and get back on-track. I wasn’t too annoyed because they were training for the Olympics 2020 which in real life was cancelled due to current pandemic. So, I’m going to extend the world and write that because of the COVID-19 delay, Joel had more time to complete his recovery and got a couple silver medals, coming second only to whichever Jamaican who have been in that race. Naturally, as a Jamaican, I’m biased, and it’s the one of the few things that raise my national pride.
Overall, this book was a really enjoyable experience. I’ll recommend it to anyone who would enjoy YA romance or anyone who enjoys books set in the Caribbean.
Off Track Content warning: Domestic violence, sexual assault, gun violence
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