Boys United

Football Academy

by Tom Palmer

Jake loves soccer and dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. He's worried about his height though—what if he's too small for soccer? But on the day of his trial Jake is quick on the ball and scores—he's made it! Jake can't wait to pull on his shirt and join the team. But someone at the club wants to make his life difficult. Can Jake face up to the bullies and become man of the match again? Stay on the ball this season with the first four stories following the boys in United's under-12s. 

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2009

Reviews

[Benk]

Didn't really like it : only read about 50 pages

[18boldingc042 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about a Manchester City fan who is called JAKE. The twist in the story is that he has signed schoolboy forms for Manchester United. What could go wrong- everything. His friends at the accademy are Yunis and Chi. Yunis is an Asian character and Chi is chinese. The coach is an english guy called Steve. Steve is very cool and laid back so that the students would listen to him.Jake is very passionate towards the City fans.Jake loves football and dreams of being a professional player.He’ worried about his height and if he’s too small to be a footballer.Jake has a trial with Manchester city’s rivals Manchester United, Jake’s quick on the ball with fast feet and a very good dribbler.He’s eager to join the team.

[Leo Margetts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is all about a Manchester City fan who is called JAKE. The twist in the story is that he has signed schoolboy forms for Manchester United. What could go wrong- everything. His friends at the accademy are Yunis and Chi. Yunis is an Asian character and Chi is chinese. The coach is an english guy called Steve. Steve is very cool and laid back so that the students would listen to him. There is also a bully called Ryan. He is a Man U fanatic so he always teases and makes fun of Jake and Tomasz the City supporters.

[Benji · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because I like football. I like Jake because he is not a bully like Ryan the team captain. My favourite characters were Jake, Jake's dad and Yunis. Jake thinks that he is too small but he gets into the academy. He supports City but he plays for United. The story is interesting because you don't know if he will get into the academy or if his team is going to win their matches. Ryan is really sacred of his mum because she shouts at Ryan if he does something wrong. I would recommend this book to readers between 7 and 9 years old.