LOVE PUPPIES AND CORNER KICKS

Change, while challenging, often drives personal growth, as 13-year-old Andrea discovers. When her father announces the family is relocating to Scotland for a year, Andrea fears her new schoolmates will uncover her secret: She stutters. At home in the States, Andrea’s stellar soccer skills and occasional use of her fists have enabled her to suppress her insecurities. At Dunnotar Academy, Andrea faces the dual stressors of new surroundings and social situations. A place on the Tough Girls Football Club soccer team seems a perfect opportunity for Andrea to rely on familiar strategies to conceal her speech issues. However, a blossoming friendship with a less popular girl and a fledgling romance give Andrea the courage to confront her anxieties. Krech skillfully portrays the dilemma Andrea faces—she can literally stay quiet and fit in or risk all by speaking up for herself and others. Plenty of soccer action and a resilient heroine make this a sure pick for the tween crowd. (Fiction. 10-14)