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The Academy II: The Journey Continues
Leo K. Doyle, a small-town kid from Ohio, has beaten all the odds and made the roster of a Premier League youth squad. But he is far from the star player. In fact, he isn't even a starter-and the U14 Lewisham Knights are the worst team in the league. They're so bad that if they don't improve this year, the owner will disband the team, which could jeopardize Leo's dream of becoming a professional soccer player. As if that wasn't enough to deal with, Leo also has to keep up his schoolwork, make brand new friends in a foreign country, deal with a coach who doesn't seem to like him, and survive away from home for a demanding season in the Youth Premier League. Leo believes he has the talent to help his team, but can he juggle all these balls and prove himself on the world's biggest soccer stage?
- GenresSports
294 pages, Paperback
Published May 6, 2023
12 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
T.Z. Layton
19 books81 followersT.Z. Layton is the award-winning author of the bestselling Academy series, which has been translated into multiple languages and optioned for film. The author is also a soccer dad, youth coach, referee, former collegiate player, and lifelong fan of the beautiful game.
To stay up to date on the Academy series and other stories by T.Z. Layton, it’s best to visit his website (tzlaytonbooks.com) and join his newsletter.
To stay up to date on the Academy series and other stories by T.Z. Layton, it’s best to visit his website (tzlaytonbooks.com) and join his newsletter.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 6, 2023
I read the first book and it was my all time favorite book ever and this one is also really good
July 28, 2025
E ARC provided by Edelweiss/ Sourcebook Young Readers Edition.
Leo returns to London to train with the Lewisham Knights U14 team, and one of the coaches is Samantha, with whom he worked at the Dragons' camp. Another face from the past is Brock, who doesn't treat Leo as badly as he once did. Coach Purcell is very exacting, and has a lot of rules that Leo finds hard to follow, so he ends up doing a lot of running and exercises as punishment. There's also Coach Luca, who oversees the dorms, Otto, a player from Hungary, Riley, Caden, and a number of other players. The Knights are not doing well, so Coach Purcell comes down even harder on the players. He doesn't appreciate Leo's innovative tactics, so often does not play him. At one point, Leo is so frustrated that he asks the coach what he is doing wrong so that he can improve his playing, but the coach thinks he is asking for special treatment. Even Samantha is not able to help, and the team is not able to come together to win games. Eventually, Leo approaches teammate Sami, whose father owns the Knights, and asks if he can get his father to come and watch a game. There's an incident when Taye, the goalie, is hurt, and Leo and Samantha go to a venue to play a pick up game and recruit JoJo, a girl who has even less formal soccer training than Leo. During a match with the Dragons, Sami's father does come to watch, and witnesses Coach Purcell's negative treatment of the players. He is fired, and Samantha is made the head coach instead. Sami's father announces that not only with the U14 program continue, but the Knights will be playing in the Tournament of Champions. The third book in this series will be available on January 6, 2026.
Strengths: This is the best kind of wish fulfillment for readers who think that they are good enough to be scouted by premier league teams and have careers as soccer players. While Leo has to train hard, there's still time for him to eat a lot of pizza and play video games with his friends. He even gets to go back to the States to see his family from time to time. Samantha is a good character, and it was interesting to see how the team accepted JoJo. It's hard to find soccer books; the closest comparison to this is Klass' 2015 Losers Take All, which lacks the premier training. Feinstein's 2017 Backfield Boys comes closer, but with a prestigious US football training academy.
Weaknesses: As a former coach, I did not find Leo to be an appealing character because of his constant refrain of "He won't let me play my game" and his lack of discipline. He's forever doing amazing things in pick up games, but doesn't always bring those skills to the games he plays with the Knights. Coach Purcell's methods were not good, but I don't think he had those methods because he was OLD. Leo needs to learn a LOT more about teamwork. It will be interesting to see if he grows up and becomes a better teammate in the next four books.
What I really think: Soccer books are so popular that I will purchase the first book in this series, and will purchase the second if there is enough interest in the first. This book is over 300 pages, like the first one.
Leo returns to London to train with the Lewisham Knights U14 team, and one of the coaches is Samantha, with whom he worked at the Dragons' camp. Another face from the past is Brock, who doesn't treat Leo as badly as he once did. Coach Purcell is very exacting, and has a lot of rules that Leo finds hard to follow, so he ends up doing a lot of running and exercises as punishment. There's also Coach Luca, who oversees the dorms, Otto, a player from Hungary, Riley, Caden, and a number of other players. The Knights are not doing well, so Coach Purcell comes down even harder on the players. He doesn't appreciate Leo's innovative tactics, so often does not play him. At one point, Leo is so frustrated that he asks the coach what he is doing wrong so that he can improve his playing, but the coach thinks he is asking for special treatment. Even Samantha is not able to help, and the team is not able to come together to win games. Eventually, Leo approaches teammate Sami, whose father owns the Knights, and asks if he can get his father to come and watch a game. There's an incident when Taye, the goalie, is hurt, and Leo and Samantha go to a venue to play a pick up game and recruit JoJo, a girl who has even less formal soccer training than Leo. During a match with the Dragons, Sami's father does come to watch, and witnesses Coach Purcell's negative treatment of the players. He is fired, and Samantha is made the head coach instead. Sami's father announces that not only with the U14 program continue, but the Knights will be playing in the Tournament of Champions. The third book in this series will be available on January 6, 2026.
Strengths: This is the best kind of wish fulfillment for readers who think that they are good enough to be scouted by premier league teams and have careers as soccer players. While Leo has to train hard, there's still time for him to eat a lot of pizza and play video games with his friends. He even gets to go back to the States to see his family from time to time. Samantha is a good character, and it was interesting to see how the team accepted JoJo. It's hard to find soccer books; the closest comparison to this is Klass' 2015 Losers Take All, which lacks the premier training. Feinstein's 2017 Backfield Boys comes closer, but with a prestigious US football training academy.
Weaknesses: As a former coach, I did not find Leo to be an appealing character because of his constant refrain of "He won't let me play my game" and his lack of discipline. He's forever doing amazing things in pick up games, but doesn't always bring those skills to the games he plays with the Knights. Coach Purcell's methods were not good, but I don't think he had those methods because he was OLD. Leo needs to learn a LOT more about teamwork. It will be interesting to see if he grows up and becomes a better teammate in the next four books.
What I really think: Soccer books are so popular that I will purchase the first book in this series, and will purchase the second if there is enough interest in the first. This book is over 300 pages, like the first one.
September 1, 2025
Leo is making his dream come true, he has worked hard and it has paid off he is a player on the U14 team, but not exactly the London Dragons, but the same league. He is a member of the Lewisham Knights; however, he isn’t a starter, the team is in last place, and if they don’t win the top spot by the end of the season the owner is not going to keep the U14 team anymore. Leo has to find a way to get on the field, and get the coach to see they need to change the way they play or they will never win a match. But Leo can’t do it by himself he needs his team behind him.
Oh my this book has a lot of action, and even more suspense than the first book. These characters are just as wonderful as the last and a bunch do make a repeat appearance, after all they play in the same league. Even though Messi still isn’t there with Leo he is still giving him help from afar. The story line is wonderful it picks up where the first one left off, but there was still a break in it. I love how Leo’s friends are still there for him and they all joke around about Leo’s playing. This series is wonderful for reluctant reader especially if they like sports, soccer in particular. I have loved this series and now have to wait for then next to come out, I hope it is soon.
This review cope was supplied by Edelweiss
Oh my this book has a lot of action, and even more suspense than the first book. These characters are just as wonderful as the last and a bunch do make a repeat appearance, after all they play in the same league. Even though Messi still isn’t there with Leo he is still giving him help from afar. The story line is wonderful it picks up where the first one left off, but there was still a break in it. I love how Leo’s friends are still there for him and they all joke around about Leo’s playing. This series is wonderful for reluctant reader especially if they like sports, soccer in particular. I have loved this series and now have to wait for then next to come out, I hope it is soon.
This review cope was supplied by Edelweiss
September 26, 2025
In this second book of the series, Leo makes some new friends. I liked that he also got to see some friends that we met in the first book. He deals with a stern and disrespectful coach and recruits the help of his teammates's dad to resolve the problem. There were some intense moments in this book because their team's spot in the league was at stake. This one is just as good as the first. -9 yo
November 21, 2024
Book two does NOT disappoint! My son and I loved it as much as the first book. New characters are interesting and readers are drawn in right away to the storyline! Author knows how to keep young readers interested and full of emotions!
August 15, 2023
This book and it's prequel (The Academy) got my 12 year old reluctant reader hooked! He could not put them down. I read them as well and enjoyed them!
March 12, 2024
OHHHHH MYY GADDDDD. SOOOO GOOOD LOL IT IS THE BESSTTTTT BOOKKKKK OFF ALLL TIMEEEE
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews