Maddox, Jake. Soccer Step-up. (Jake Maddox JV Girls)

Maddox, Jake.  Soccer Step-up. (Jake Maddox JV Girls)  Capstone Publishers  2017  96p  $18.99    ISBN 978-1-4965-3675-4    ms/jr   Sports  VG-BN     

The middle-school girls’ soccer program is canceled due to budget cuts. The older girls on the team get a chance to try out for the high-school JV team.  Lack of self-confidence, concern about fitting into a high-school program, and a “mean girls” attitude on the part of the high-school students make for a hard transition. By using their leadership skills and reaching the realization that they are better working together than individually showboating, the team comes together for a win. A hi/lo book for middle-school readers, this will appeal to all middle-school girl soccer players.         

The series Jake Maddox JV Girls contains four titles about girls sports at the middle-school and JV levels. The hi/lo format, fast action and positive message about teamwork will resonate with middle-school girls.  Strongly recommended for middle-school collections, as books on girls’ sports are not as prevalent as are fiction books about boys’ sports.

Summary: When middle-school girls’ soccer is canceled due to budget constraints, the girls get a chance to try out for the  high-school JV team.  For the three that make the team, it is a difficult transition, but teamwork wins the day. Grades 5-8.        

Soccer-Fiction, Teamwork-Fiction                 --Lois McNicol

Alexander, Kwame. Booked.

Alexander, Kwame.  Booked.    Houghton Mifflin  2016  314p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-544-57098-6  ms/hs  Sports  VG-BN 

In this novel in verse, Nick Hall is an avid soccer player whose father subscribes to Verbomania and forces Nick to read from “his” dictionary and learn a variety of uncommon words to prepare him for college. He has issues with paying attention in class as well as completing assignments, like any middle-school student who is distracted at times. He has a crush on April and a fun-loving, insistent librarian, as well as an overbearing language-arts teacher. Just when Nick learns that his team and best friend Coby’s team have been invited to play in the Dallas National Soccer tournament, he learns of his parents’ intent to separate.

This well-written novel in verse is sure to engage and entertain young readers. It will appeal to adolescent readers, as Nick experiences and learns to balance sports, school, parents’ requirements, romance, and his demanding teacher and librarian. When Nick encounters an unavoidable situation that threatens his ability to compete in the National Soccer Tournament, he must come to grips with it and differentiate between what he needs and what he desires. Readers can’t help but root for Nick on his life journey.

Booked will appeal not only to avid adolescent readers, but to struggling and reluctant readers as well. The story is written as a poem with few words on each page, and it will not intimidate reluctant readers. The many themes and twists in the plot will appeal to readers and give them a strong connection to the protagonist.

Summary: In this novel in verse, Nick Hall is an avid soccer player whose father subscribes to Verbomania and forces Nick to read from his dictionary and learn a variety of uncommon words to prepare him for college; and just when he learns his team and his best friend Coby’s team have been invited to play in the Dallas National Soccer tournament, he also learns of his parents’ intent to separate.      
     

Soccer-Fiction                                  --Virginia McGarvey