February 15, 2017
A funny, heartwarming story about a young girl who learns to manage (other people's) expectations and make her dreams come true. Ten-year-old Maya believes she's found her calling. She's going to be a professional soccer star (never mind that she's never even kicked a ball) or at least marry one! However, the odds are stacked against her. She lives in a conservative seaside town in Malaysia. She's born to a mother of Indian descent and a white English father, solidifying her status as a misfit. And her grandmother is always harping on her to be a good Indian girl--and good Indian girls don't play soccer. Although her schoolmates at her all-girls convent school reject soccer as a boy's sport, Maya perseveres and eventually recruits enough players to make a team. However, she realizes that playing soccer is the least of her problems. One day, Maya's parents drop a bombshell, devastating her. To bring her family back together, Maya comes up with an outrageous plan that involves London's Wembley Stadium, the Brazilian soccer team, and all the courage she can muster. Aside from the multiple metaphors only an ardent soccer fan could love, Flint injects humor effortlessly into her prose. Add the antics of a spunky main character and short and sweet chapters for a fast-paced, entertaining read. Universal themes of grappling with race, fitting in, and dealing with divorce help this story transcend cultural boundaries. (Fiction. 8-12)
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July 1, 2017
In Flint's semi-autobiographical middle-grade debut set in 1986 Malaysia, eleven-year-old Maya, a passionate soccer fan, tries to start a girls' team at her school and worries about her parents' fraught relationship. Family, friendship, and school dramas overlap with half-Indian, half-English Maya's experiences as a minority in her small town. Succinct narration conveys immediacy, and Maya's competing impulses of insecurity and determination are well drawn.
(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)