The Dream Team: Jaz Santos vs. the World (The Dream Team, 1)

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I have read my fair share of middle grades and I can now tell when the authors know how to talk like, about and to children and when they do not. She likes Dad's homemade pizza, she wants Mum to pay some attention, and her sights are set on football stardom. Boys’ and girls’ football is treated completely differently, regardless of the level it’s played at, and this stems from sexist ideas about what girls can and can’t do as well as boys can. The team wants to enter a girls tournament but is up against sports misogyny in their own school, difficult teachers, and no initial funding.

It also shows adults that having honest conversations with your children and reminding them of how proud you are of them, is hugely important for their mental well being and can ease some of the pressures they are placing on themselves. The pacing was a bit strange, because the 'non sports' themes were scattered around, without an organic feel to them. Ten-year-old Jaz feels her best playing football (soccer), and she's sure that if she can start her own girl's team and win the under-11s championship, it'll bring her recently-separated parents back together for sure. Yes Jaz faces sexism and doubt, yes it is harder for her because she doesn’t come from a privileged background, but it is her self-belief and sheer determination that propels her to realise her dreams.Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. What didn't work so well for me (but these are minor): some clumsy similes, not going into enough detail earlier on to explain why the other girls get into football or how they become any good at it, an ending that was a little too neat and sweet, the rather obvious underdog sports plot, some other MG tropes.

It was quite predictable that there would be this one thing the main character is bad at but it's the thing that makes them win the match.Overall the book has a nice story to it whilst also tackling or touching upon a few tough issues: bullying, sexism and parents splitting. While the book was written for children ages eight and up, there are many gems or quotes that I, an adult woman, needed to be reminded of.