112 pages, Paperback
Review copy
Children's, Girls 7+
Cushions: 1
Smiles: 5
Tissues: 4
Nayuleska's recommended rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Summary from Walker
Ten-year-old Jenny-Jane Bayliss is fed up of everyone getting at her. If it's not her horrible family, it's her teacher or her football coach. All she wants to do is play football – why can't they all just leave her alone?
The girls in the Parsnips have a firm place in my heart. There is such a wide range of personalities, dealing with all sorts of problems in life. The one thing they have in common is the love of football. (I don't share that particular common interest!). The series works through their growth as a team, but it highlights their individual lives.
Upon reading the book blurb, I thought JJ was a bit of a brat, self-centred and uncaring. I was totally wrong. Her family situation is pretty rough. She has to deal with violence, intimidation and other issues. It's amazing that she's (mostly) staying on the rails. I think it just goes to show that a lot of the time, we don't know what goes on in peoples lives - our friends, family and neighbours. I felt really sorry for JJ. She keeps quiet about her home life from the Parsnips. It gets out though in this book. How it gets out isn't pleasant, and it does have repercussions with her relation with everyone.
JJ does lose it in this book. It's hardly surprising with all that's going on. In some ways I wish she could have let the girls know a little sooner about her situation. But it's hardly a topic that's easy to bring up. The way she loses it makes her look spoilt, but then with so little control over most of her life, small issues will seem a big deal to her.
As always this book is great for girls who love football, and equally as good for girls who don't. It addresses issues that I think will make readers stop and think about who their friends are (in a positive way), and perhaps not judge people too quickly. And also to share things!
Check out the Girls FC website, with news from Helena.
Make sure you check out other books in the series including What's Ukranian for Football?
No comments:
Post a Comment