I read Priscilla Mante’s new book Jaz Santos plays football like a girl over this long weekend and loved it.
As a writer I put a lot of food into my books and I loved reading about all the pizza varieties, including the sweet ones and the fancy names Jaz comes up with.
I was very much drawn into the multiple layers of the story – from the love between siblings, to the joy of friends, and to the pressure of being compared with peers even before the core of the story – the lives of parents and how it impacts us.
The wonderful display of football matches on the page read like a live commentary and demonstrated Priscilla’s own love of football and how women need more support and more money in this sport.
For a young reader, life is like this – they can’t take life as a pizza slice at a time. It’s more like toppings on a pizza – things happen all at the same time. When things go wrong in one part of their lives, it creates an impact somewhere else. And Jaz shows us how to cope with that, with her vulnerability and courage.
We all need a Miss Williams in our life – hopefully not as many Rotten Roundtrees although it does give us a reason to show up and show them. We need someone we can talk to – whether it is Rhiannon or Miss Williams, who might not tell us what to do, but can listen and perhaps even light a candle to show us the way.
I thank Puffin for a copy of their proof and I look forward to reading more about the Dream Team and the upcoming book about Charligh’s journey.
Buy the book here!
Check out all the sports books on our bookshelf here.
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