Soccer fans will get a kick out of the game-day action in this straightforward series opener.
An all-boys soccer team is put to the test when a talented girl wants to join their ranks.
Jeff Michaels is excited to learn that his middle school will now be offering sports teams for sixth graders in the fall: field hockey for girls and soccer for boys. When his female classmate Andrea “Andi” Carillo shows up for soccer tryouts, he’s impressed by her skill on the field. Others, however, are upset and even angry that she’s attempting to join the team. When Andi is unjustly excluded by a disgruntled coach, Jeff and Andi reach out to the media to pressure him into letting her on the team. Andi grapples for playing time and soon proves her strength on and off the field, but the team is still fractured by huge disagreements over Andi and even bigger egos. The team will have to learn to work together to reach their goal of winning the conference title. Feinstein includes detailed play-by-play of the middle school soccer matches that will be thrilling for soccer buffs but less exciting for the casual reader. Andi’s grit and refusal to back down in the face of sexism are inspirational and reflect the real challenges facing student athletes today. It is mentioned briefly that one soccer teammate is Jewish and two are black; other characters are assumed white.
Soccer fans will get a kick out of the game-day action in this straightforward series opener. (Fiction. 8-14)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-374-31203-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
IN THE NEWS
Fresh exploits in a series notable for its engaging characters and high quality of detective work.
The game is afoot as the Sherlock Society’s four middle school detectives are hired to track down elusive Miami graffiti artist Funky Munky.
In their third caper, the savvy young sleuths engage in another round of expert clue gathering and clever analysis as they seek their gifted quarry, “an activist and street artist” known for painting “graffiti monkeys alongside quotes protesting everything from real estate developments to environmental issues to accusations of government corruption.” Chaperoned and kept from doing anything really dangerous by a strict lawyer mom and a flashy grandpa driving a classic Cadillac convertible, siblings Alex and Zoe, plus their friends Yadi and Lina, nonetheless again prove themselves smart and able investigators with the inner stuff to rise to the occasion when the going gets tricky and the stakes mount. The growing suspense breaks for occasional, well-timed comic relief, including some fiendish (if harmless) pranks—one of which prompts Alex to remark good-humoredly to his big sister, “I still can’t decide if you’re an evil genius or just plain evil.” Along with lots of eye-opening exposure to the secretive, part-legitimate, part-outlaw world of graffiti art (South Florida–style, anyway), readers will be swept up in the closely knit quartet’s lively dynamics as well as the details of the investigation as the tale progresses to its climactic denouement. Yadi reads Latine, and the other leads present white.
Fresh exploits in a series notable for its engaging characters and high quality of detective work. (Mystery. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781665983563
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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