I thoroughly enjoyed this young teenage girls' world of friendships, football, giggles, unfairness, make-up, music, families and giggles.
Lara is a lively and thoughtful girl who is conscious of her own feelings and often puzzled about when to tell the truth. Her habit of journalling is a brilliant way to work through her emotions, ambitions, crushes, grievances and decisions. Her closest friends are nicely varied with each being a fully rounded person rather than a stereotype or merely a foil for Lara.
We see Lara at school, in the park, in her friends' houses and with her own family. And, most importantly, playing football, for which her ability and skill is demonstrated unapologetically. The pace of story-telling, the vocabulary, the dialogue, the switches between journal entries and narrative, together with the action are all pitched just right for young teenagers and believable for adult readers too.
Lara is a lively and thoughtful girl who is conscious of her own feelings and often puzzled about when to tell the truth. Her habit of journalling is a brilliant way to work through her emotions, ambitions, crushes, grievances and decisions. Her closest friends are nicely varied with each being a fully rounded person rather than a stereotype or merely a foil for Lara.
We see Lara at school, in the park, in her friends' houses and with her own family. And, most importantly, playing football, for which her ability and skill is demonstrated unapologetically. The pace of story-telling, the vocabulary, the dialogue, the switches between journal entries and narrative, together with the action are all pitched just right for young teenagers and believable for adult readers too.