An odd hybrid of a book, Big Girl in the Middle is part model/volleyball player Gabrielle Reece's autobiography and part third-person chronicle of the misadventures of Team Nike across the 1996 professional beach volleyball circuit, for which Reece captained and played middle blocker. At 6'3" and 170 pounds, Reece cuts an imposing figure, as commanding on a magazine or book cover as she is on the court. She has a unique perspective on both of the public arenas in which she's played: as a top-flight athlete and accepted beauty, she smashes several stereotypes; how she's coped with those stereotypes, successfully spiking most of them, makes Reece an admirable role model. Her observations in this area serve up Big Girl's best attributes.