In this charming soccer-themed adventure that combines action with emotional growth, “la magia es real.”
When the chance to win an extravagant World Cup prize package is announced, three 13-year-old superfans in Miami must overcome their rivalries to complete a scavenger hunt—and help their soccer idol when things go wrong.
Chinese American Ethan Yang and his best friend, white-presenting Sasha Ward, can’t believe it. They just watched their favorite soccer player, the legendary Luis “El Botín” Alamilla, help Venezuela qualify for the World Cup—and then El Botín announced a competition to win a lavish bundle of gifts, including opening ceremony and match tickets and a replica of his seemingly magical cleats. Also vying for the prize is Venezuelan American soccer influencer, Mateo Flores, who seemingly has it all. But when first El Botín’s real boots and then the man himself go missing, the soccer world is sent into a tailspin. As it turns out, Ethan, Sasha, and Mateo each have a piece of the puzzle, and they must set aside their individual drive to win to work together and save their fútbol hero. Told from the leads’ third-person points of view, the story skillfully weaves together themes of perseverance and the transformative forces of friendship and teamwork to celebrate the unifying power of soccer. Liu carefully explores the pressures and expectations each young teen faces and shows how they persist through their individual challenges and help others who are struggling.
In this charming soccer-themed adventure that combines action with emotional growth, “la magia es real.” (author’s note) (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781546178910
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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