Soccer in the forefront AND periods. Valeria aka Magic is a superstar on the field and has been playing with the boys for quite a while in Utah where she resides with her grandparents. Her grandmother goes to Argentina because an aunt is ill but her grandfather stays for a pivotal game of Valeria's. Except it doesn't go well because Valeria gets her period in the middle of the game wearing white shorts. And this is the first time she's gotten it so a wonderful parent helps her navigate it in the bathroom. She's feeling vulnerable and sad about both the game being lost and the pain and frustration of her period and now her aunt's death.

This means a transition which is that she is now going to play on a girl's team-- a team that isn't very welcoming of her from the start. Her strength needs to come from within and from family and supportive people to keep her strength and head in the game because she is a phenomenal footballer.

Mednez's powerful girl narrative is one to marvel at. An excellent homage to girlhood and being authentically yourself and growing and learning too.

In this soccer (futbol) focused book, Mendez looks at the gender binary; what it means to be a talented young girl athlete, particularly as the athletes get older and co-ed becomes less societally acceptable; and how puberty and periods affects all who deal with them. Any reader who loves soccer and realistic fiction around strong female characters will want to pick up this book.

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this coming-of-age story about soccer, family, and the importance of teamwork! I especially loved how the story openly covered periods — so important for tweens and readers of ALL ages to see this portrayed openly and honestly on the page! This was a great read, I highly recommend it.

This was a big-hearted middle grade debut featuring a fútbol loving tween girl who lives with her grandmother and grandfather and plays on the boys' team that her abuelo coaches only to have her dreams of taking the team to gold dashed when she gets kicked off for being a girl. Luckily she is able to join the girl's team where she learns about what it means to be a girl, a friend and a good daughter/granddaughter. I really loved this story from the author of Furia, it has great female in sports rep and endometriosis rep and a lovely unconventional family that loves deeply. Highly recommended for fans of Bend it like Beckham and books like Crushing it by Erin Becker. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and print ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely loved this book. Valeria “Magic” Salomón is a determined and passionate fútbol-loving girl who is set on achieving her dreams. We follow Magic on a journey of self-discovery as she navigates through life as her world is suddenly turned upside down after a devastating loss in a tournament and getting her first period. The novel beautifully portrays non-traditional family dynamics and openly discusses periods, which I found refreshing. Saied Méndez excellently captures the emotions and mood swings associated with experiencing a period, especially the first one. I will be buying this novel for my 12-year-old niece. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this novel.

a children's chapter book with a strong young female protagonist, soccer, and family.

what we have here is a great novel perfect for kids who are having difficulty seeing how things in life are changing. how their body changes, how life sometimes can be very unpredictable and sometimes it might hurt you.
our main character is a soccer player, she has to deal with her first period, her changing family situation, and the amazing sides of girlhood.

not only is this an amazing book for kids but also adults.

I loved this novel about a middle schooler who plays on the boys soccer team until something happens and she has to find her way with a new team. I loved so much about this novel but very much appreciated the period talk -- it is so important for our girls to see period as normal and not something to be ashamed of! Love, love, love.

I started out really enjoying this story of a middle grade girl excelling in sports and being raised by her grandparents. Valeria seemed overconfident in her abilities and was very disrespectful to her grandfather and other adults, including Jose. I figured this is where Valeria's character growth arc would start to grow from, but by the end I couldn't tell if she really had or not learned to respect others because they deserved to be respected or did she just learn she could get what she wants by pretending. The ending felt way too rushed as everyone in the family and on the teams seemed to suddenly be okay with each other.

I did enjoy the growing friendships on the team as well as Lita and Valeria's relationship. I also enjoyed the immigrant topics of Valeria's cousin and some of the issues he had to deal with after his mother's death.

This is a definite purchase for my middle school library. Why?
*A strong girl main character who has lots of room to grow - and does.
*A variety of characters that represent different kinds of people that feels natural.
*A family with issues that they begin to deal with.
*First period for a girl - perhaps a bit too dramatic since middle school students know a lot more about periods and are prepared - but menstruation did not dominate the storyline.
*Futbol/soccer theme - a girl who plays on the boys team, then learns to play with girls and becomes a good teammate and friend.
This book will appeal to many of my middle school readers. It definitely fills a niche. I look forward to suggesting it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Planning to purchase a copy for my neice, who is also a string, spunky soccer player, just like this protagonist!

Beyond the soccer connection, this book also has interesting family dynamics and a window into a different cultural background.

Valeria Salomón lives in Utah with her grandmother (Lita) and grandfather, who is also her soccer coach for the Overlords. Her parents were very young when she was born, and her father has only visited her five times, since he lives on the east coast and travels a lot as a photographer. Val loves soccer, and is a very good player. She's played with the Overlords for years, and her best friend, Sasha used to be on the team as well. Now, however, Val is the only girl on the team. Her grandmother and father are supposed to come to a crucial game, but the family is devastated to find out that her Tia Antonello in Argentina is not doing well at all. Lita packs up to go, and Val's father joins her. Val isn't feeling well during the game, and realizes too late that it's because she's gotten her period. A time out is called, and the entire team changes from white to black shorts. Distracted, Val blows a play and feels embarassed and awful... until she finds out that Abuelo found out during the game that her aunt has died. Since he's had a tumultuous relationship with the aunt, he doesn't handle things well, and Val decides to stay next door at Sasha's house, where her mother gets her period supplies and tries to help her through the difficult days. Eventually, Lita comes home... with Antonella's son Maxwell in tow. Since it's summer, he has time to settle in to living in Val's father's old room, and even starts to play with the Overlords, since Val was kicked off. Val thinks it's unfair, but her grandmother points out that if she wants to be considered for the Olypic Development Program, she needs to play on a girls' team. The best coach out there is Linda Blume, but when Val calls her, Coach Blume tells her that her team is full, and she's just missed the try out period. Undaunted, Val goes to her house and explains why she didn't go through the tryouts. She gets on the Amazon team as the 19th player on the roster. Still stinging from being kicked off the boys' team, Val doesn't do well at first. Eventually, she starts to realize that she's not playing WITH the team, but is just trying to showcase her own skills. Once she figures this out, she starts to play better, and Sasha helps her connect socially with her teammates. Lita jumps in to full soccer mom mode, bringing her knitting and sitting between Maxwell and Val's teams. Abuela may be struggling with his daughter's death, and letting the other coach, José, work with the team, but Maxwell is slowly acclimating to his new home situation. When both Maxwell and Valeria have a big tournament, Val's dad comes in, and there's plenty of team drama as the Overlords and the Amazons play for their respective league trophies.
Strengths: This was a very realistic look at how families can take many different forms. While Lita and Abuelo are Val's grandparents, they are raising her, so feel a bit more like a mom and dad. There's a nice scene when the Amazons have a "mother-daughter" party, and Val feels a bit awkward asking Lita, who of course is perfectly happy to attend. There are a lot of my students who are in similar circumstances, so I liked how matter-of-fact the family situations were. The draw for young readers will be all of the soccer details. I know in Ohio, girls can play on boys' teams, but boys can't play on girls' teams, so this seemed realistic. The Overlords generally liked Val, but there were some members who were irritated, which also seemed realistic. The difficult family situation after the aunt's death was well handled, and one of my favorite moments was when Sasha and Maxwell met and Val could tell they liked each other. Yes, tween life still goes on, even under stressful circumstances. Val is a little jealous of Maxwell, since he has spent more time with her dad, but she does acknowledge that this is a bit petty, since he has just lost his mother. There are never enough books with sports in them, and this will be a very popular book with my students, who have also enjoyed this author's Shaking Up the House and Wish Upon a Stray!
Weaknesses: While I really liked that Val had to contend with her period during a couple of points in the story, I'm not sure how I feel about first periods that are super noticeable to everybody. Having been in a middle school for 26 years, I've never seen this happen, and I am more likely to be consulted for help than the school nurse in these matters. I also talked to several friends and my daughter, who had their doubts. Should girls be prepared? Absolutely. Is it good to scare them this way? I'm still thinking about that one. Both of my daughters would pass out at school on occasion, so it is good to have period issues as part of the story.
What I really think: I'll definitely be purchasing this title, and recommending it to readers who enjoyed Morgan's The Kicks series, Matheson's Select, and Lupica's Defending Champ.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Valeria, aka Magic, is 12 years old and playing on the boys' soccer team, coached by her abuelo. It's game day, and something isn't...right.

Fast forward, and she needs a new team, but she's only ever played with boys and a need to prove herself, so she doesn't know what to do, but she needs to learn quickly. Throw in her unique family situation (raised by grandparents, father an infrequent visitor, birth mother not in the picture), and it's about to be a huge summer of growth for Valeria.

This is a middle grade book that kids need. I picked it up because I loved the author's young adult book, Furia, and have since read and enjoyed two of her adult novels, and this book has so much more to offer. There is Latine rep, puberty/menstruation, rep for different types of families, and of course, the love of the game of football, fútbol, "soccer" (if you must). Definitely recommend, hopefully one I'll be seeing a lot after its publication!