Do these loose ends portend a sequel? More troublemaking and bigotry? Perhaps Sandford will take up yoga. Now that might...
Soccer (aka, to most of the world, football) at its apex is a beautiful game, but despite its title, in Quinn’s story readers get a lot more dirty play, errant behavior, and hooliganism.
In this graphic novel, a down-at-the-heels British town has little going for it but its soccer teams, the storied Sandford Town football club and the current champs, the Sandford Rovers. Readers are thrust into the Town camp, but except for the flawed heroes—twin brothers, their parents, and, part of the time, their sister—none of the characters (mostly white) are appealing. Although the town looks like Coventry after the blitz, Sharma has chosen to draw all the lads (players) as descendants of Thor—lantern jaws, gritted teeth, clenched fists, great mops of unruly hair—while the other characters (fans, reporters) resemble particularly brutal, sunken-eyed prison guards. Along with some crumbs thrown in for those who thought this was a sports story (“Sandford Town is more than just a football club. It’s a family. A dream. A way of life. And that way of life is in danger,” barks the coach—and he’s the nice one), there is plenty of mayhem: “You lot must be mental coming this side of the river,” says one black gentleman to another black gentlemen—and black gentlemen nearly monopolize the hooliganism, anger issues, and criminality. In the end, a boy-toy band saves the day, but not without some loose ends.
Do these loose ends portend a sequel? More troublemaking and bigotry? Perhaps Sandford will take up yoga. Now that might spark some inspired storytelling. (Graphic fiction. 10-16)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-93-81182-11-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This stands out for its unusual setting and smooth integration of friendship and family concerns. (Fiction. 10-14)
Sucked into "business" with a crooked classmate, bowling fanatic Lamar Washington makes good money faking his skills, but when a disruptive prank reveals his new friend Billy’s duplicity, he realizes how wrong it was to aim to be “the smoothest baddest dude” in Coffin, Ind.
This refreshing first novel is told in the first person with plenty of snappy dialogue by a smart African-American middle-schooler whose asthma has kept him out of the usual sports and whose older brother, a basketball star, consistently taunts him. Lamar’s new friendship threatens both a longstanding one and a promising new relationship with a girl. Tension mounts as Lamar is drawn further into an unsavory gambling world, realizing that his cheating is wrong but thrilled to have the cash to buy a Bubba Sanders bowling ball. A final, seriously physical fight with his brother leads to climactic arrests. The drab rigidity of Camp Turnaround, where Billy is incarcerated, contrasts with the excitement of the bowling alley Lamar loves. His grounding and community service seem appropriate. His understanding of the consequences of his prank fire alarm, both for his brother and for his basketball-mad small town, comes slowly and realistically, and the solution of his family issues is satisfying.
This stands out for its unusual setting and smooth integration of friendship and family concerns. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-199272-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story.
Leaving Brooklyn behind, Black math-whiz and puzzle lover Bree starts a new life in Florida, where she’ll be tossed into the deep end in more ways than one. Keeping her head above water may be the trickiest puzzle yet.
While her dad is busy working and training in IT, Bree struggles at first to settle into Enith Brigitha Middle School, largely due to the school’s preoccupation with swimming—from the accomplishments of its namesake, a Black Olympian from Curaçao, to its near victory at the state swimming championships. But Bree can’t swim. To illustrate her anxiety around this fact, the graphic novel’s bright colors give way to gray thought bubbles with thick, darkened outlines expressing Bree’s deepest fears and doubts. This poignant visual crowds some panels just as anxious feelings can crowd the thoughts of otherwise star students like Bree. Ultimately, learning to swim turns out to be easy enough with the help of a kind older neighbor—a Black woman with a competitive swimming past of her own as well as a rich and bittersweet understanding of Black Americans’ relationship with swimming—who explains to Bree how racist obstacles of the past can become collective anxiety in the present. To her surprise, Bree, with her newfound water skills, eventually finds herself on the school’s swim team, navigating competition, her anxiety, and new, meaningful relationships.
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-305677-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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