After winning silver in the Olympics, teen Jake Taylor is a celebrity.The fame that comes with it allows for a few perks. For starters, Jake’s heli-snowboard adventure in the Alps. But for him, the best part is the opportunity to help others. Jake became  the new spokesperson for a state-of-the -art training facility for top athletes as well as Special Olympic athletes. It’s a dream come true. Of course, fame also has its drawbacks, and the biggest one involves reporters. The only reporter Jake trusts is his own girlfriend, Sophie. Through her, Jake has learned that the best way to handle professional reporters is to be polite, answer questions, and keep them away from his personal life. How is he going to do that with Adele Addelstein following him around for a month while he trains and competes in the extreme sporting event, Mountain Madness Games? 

Adele is trying to get Jake to open up for her in-depth piece on him for the training facility, but this is proving to be quite a challenge. On top of his unwillingness to talk to her,  he is stressed because his friend and mentor, Tommy, crashed during training  and had to be airlifted to a hospital. Remembering Jake’s girlfriend Sophie is a reporter and understanding he needs a friend, Adele reaches out to her. Adele hopes Sophie will be able to get more in depth answers. With her parents’ blessing, Sophie accepts her first big job as a journalist with Adele. 

Sophie and Jake are thrilled at the opportunity to spend the week together during the Madness Games in Colorado. Sophie will see Jake compete and be able to write about it. Being an athlete’s girlfriend also provides Sophie with coveted access to the other people she hopes to interview. When strange accidents begin to happen to the athletes, Jake and Sophie become suspicious. Can the two discover who’s sabotaging the athletes?

Putting God first is the underlying theme of eXtreme Blindsight. People watch every move Jake makes. He handles this pressure by asking what would Jesus do? Showing their love of God, both teens send up small prayers in difficult situations and for each other. Sophie gets a taste of Jake’s celebrity life and realizes how hard it can be. As teens, Jake and Sophie learn life’s temptations and difficulties by relying on God.  

Leslea Wahl’s teen novel, eXtreme Blindside is an exciting read from cover to cover. It is the second novel in the Blindside series, but can be read as a standalone. The descriptions of the extreme winter sports made me feel like I was part of the audience. Wahl has a talent for writing relatable teens . Sophie is by far my favorite character in this book.  I love her nervous tick of telling people random facts about Colorado. Celebrity Jake is well written. He’s still just a teen, but he’s expected to handle situations most adults would find difficult.  Jake and Sophie’s sleuthing kept me interested in the mystery. I was surprised who was responsible for sabotaging the athletes. This book will make a great addition to any Christian teen library. For concerned parents, the romance is chaste with only a few kisses. There is one incident of underage drinking, but it serves as a way to heal the tension between Jake and another rival athlete.