Set in the heart of the suburban Midwest, emerging author Blythe Stanfel gives us her first captivating novel, Out of the Pocket. This young adult historical fiction piece catalogs the Iraq War in 2003 and 2004 through the eyes of a senior high school football player, whose father is stationed in Iraq as a Major in the United States Army. Out of the Pocket bridges the literary gap that teenage boys often encounter when choosing novels to read, and provides them with an outlet to understand adolescence from a different perspective... Soldiers fighting in Iraq struggle physically and emotionally to survive each day, but what about their loved ones left back at home Young boys and girls can easily relate to the main character in Out of the Pocket, Mercer Murray, whose slightly sarcastic yet sensitive voice, offers insight into the life of a typical high school senior struggling with football, girls, and most of all, his father fighting in the Iraq War. Even those with short-attention span