Every so often I get wrapped up in a book that makes me shove everything to the side while I strive to finish it. This was definitely one of those occasions and through bleary eyes I made it to the end of the book, unable to stop myself. For context, I was given a copy of this book by the mum of a teammate of my daughter, who happens to work in the book industry and suggested I might like to read it. Let’s just say she absolutely nailed the recommendation.
I had never heard of the author in question, Karen Viggers, but from a quick Google search it was obvious that she is a highly-regarded Australian author, not previously known for football fiction, but clearly well versed in the workings of junior football in this country. Here she is introducing the book. This was enough to assure me that I was in for a good read, and after being sucked in after only a few pages, this was a storyline that was completely up my alley.
The book does not have chapters as such. There are some helpful section breaks (a miniature football) that allow you to know when you can put the book down and resume from an appropriate place in the story. There are main sections, one for each of the main characters in the story, and the way the book flows is very clever. I was expecting something along the lines of The Slap, at least the ABC TV series, and I think I fell for it at the end of one of the sections, anticipating an event that would then feed the rest of the story with repercussions and ramifications.
This is a story about football – the level of football where players need to trial to become part of the system and where parents do all they can to make it happen. It’s competitive. The main character is Audrey, a talented 14-year-old player, and she is from a typical North West Sydney professional upper-middle class household; her mum and dad are two of the other main voices we follow. The protagonist in Audrey’s football story is Katerina, who is from an altogether different background, but who is the only other girl in their boys’ team. We all know families just like Audrey’s and Katerina’s, and we can form our own views using our preconceptions and previous experiences.
There are several times during the story when I feel that we’re approaching the main event, and we get tantalisingly close, and there is a brilliant switch of characters in the middle of the story that confirms everything that the reader is suspecting. I don’t want to give anything away, but the story is captivating and engaging, without being action-packed and thrilling. I guess it is thrilling in a different way, that’s what makes you keep reading.
The book certainly is a social commentary on the pressures of living in Sydney and trying to squeeze a fledgling football career into a timetable that doesn’t have room for it, and the casual dropping of certain places, animals, events and even brand names gives this a genuine Australian feel. A feeling of familiarity to the reader that suggests that this might not be fiction after all.
As an author of football fiction myself, I was in awe of the freedom in the writing. The structure of the sentences and paragraphs don’t follow the usual norm, the use of present tense gives the reader a sense of being right there in the moment, and the ability to dip into somewhat taboo subjects were done with much authority.
Of course, with the good there is the bad. Some of the coach talk is perhaps a little underdone, a little dumbed down perhaps for a knowledgeable football audience, but it doesn’t affect the readability at all. There were times when I had to re-read a section of dialogue to know who said what; that could have been my tired self getting too caught up in the book in the early hours of the morning. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get to a logical chapter break when I first started reading, but those little footballs every few pages were very useful. The repercussions of some of the actions of the characters were soft too, although a month-long grounding and a ban from football wouldn’t exactly make good reading, would it?
When I finished the book at some ungodly hour of the morning, I searched up the Goodreads reviews. For a book that still effectively being launched, there are many, and it is clear that the publisher values these reviews – most of them are transparent letting you know that the reviewer got a free copy from the publisher in exchange for a review, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Not all reviews had 5 stars either, and some even wanted the author to go back to the style of her previous work. I’ll be giving this one 5 stars though. I thoroughly enjoyed the read, it was a storyline based in circles where I tread, and I can see bits of myself and others in the characters, although that’s between you and me.
If you’re a parent of an aspiring footballer, read this book. It will have you hooked immediately. You have been warned.
