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March 13, 2023
Matheson (Shelter) channels her coaching experience into this quickly paced, empowering contemporary novel about girls’ soccer and self-advocacy. Twelve-year-old Alex, who cues as white, feels ambivalent when she’s recruited out of her beloved rec league soccer team and into San Francisco Select Superior, a competitive travel team that opens up opportunities for national-level recognition and college scholarships. While her compassionate former coach Jayda, who is Black, encouraged good sportsmanship and team efforts, white Coach Austin demands decisive victories and harsh, even abusive exercises, and suggests that his guidance will make the team “stop playing like girls.” Tenacious Alex navigates the Bay Area transit system on her own to get to games and often solely cares for her seven-year-old sister, Belle, while their people-pleasing mother is distracted by a demanding boyfriend and excessive work hours. As Alex’s lifelong love of the game begins to falter, she confronts hard dilemmas involving injustice, sexism, and what it means to be part of a team. A compressed but emotionally satisfying end caps off Alex’s straightforward first-person narrative, which exudes resilience and hope. The soccer game descriptions are brisk and informative, accessible to newcomers to the sport. Context clues suggest racial diversity among Alex’s teammates. Ages 8–12. Agent: Stacey Glick, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.