Rating: Additional
2006, Roaring Brook Press, $16.95
ISBN: 1596431377
Age Level: 11-15
Tess Munro, 13 year old soccer chick, puts gumption into more than sports in this “well-rounded girl enters the school of life” story. Author Dawn FitzGerald gets soccer’s kinematics, and brings the reader on and off the field into the life of not easily subdued Tess. As the athletically nimble teenager learns her "soccer chick rules," she also buds friendships, endures conflicts with perky cheerleaders and dancers with purple manicured nails, as she fights to keep school sports intact. As Munro notes "The U.S. Women's Soccer League bit the dust," but in reading at least, there is room and hope for this sporty novel, even with its few cliches. The front cover jacket, however could be improved.
Reviewer: Rebecca Porter, Laguna Beach
