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Stealing the Score
The World Cup, the biggest sporting event in the world, is coming to town!
When a contest offering up a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend the World Cup is announced, superfans Ethan, Sasha, and Mateo are all determined to win. To do so, they must embark on a local scavenger hunt for soccer star, El Botín's, famous cleats. However, the promotional gimmick takes a turn, when the real cleats go missing, and then, the superstar himself.
With the approaching World Cup on the line, the kids will have to overcome their rivalries and come together to not only find their hero's cleats but to save his whole career.
When a contest offering up a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend the World Cup is announced, superfans Ethan, Sasha, and Mateo are all determined to win. To do so, they must embark on a local scavenger hunt for soccer star, El Botín's, famous cleats. However, the promotional gimmick takes a turn, when the real cleats go missing, and then, the superstar himself.
With the approaching World Cup on the line, the kids will have to overcome their rivalries and come together to not only find their hero's cleats but to save his whole career.
256 pages, Paperback
Published February 3, 2026
About the author
Sylvia Liu
8 books154 followersSylvia Liu grew up with books and daydreams in Caracas, Venezuela. Once an environmental attorney protecting the oceans, she now spins stories for children, inspired by high tech, ghost crabs, and strong girls. Sylvia lives in Virginia with her family and a very fluffy cat.
Visit her website at enjoyingplanetearth.com and follow her on Instagram/Bluesky (@sylliu) or Twitter (@artsylliu).
Visit her website at enjoyingplanetearth.com and follow her on Instagram/Bluesky (@sylliu) or Twitter (@artsylliu).
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 9, 2026
Wonderful book about friendship and teamwork and the power of the beautiful game!! There are so many ways people interact with soccer across the globe and it was fun to explore that before the 2026 World Cup. I loved that each teen has their own struggles and even as we grow up those struggles still exist as seen with el botin. Great dialogue and pacing as well. It kept me really entertained and I had laughs!! Some great plot twists as well. Also a great lesson in not judging or assuming you know someone, I loved the evolution of the characters!
November 17, 2025
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Ethan Yang loves soccer, and is a big fan of Luis Alamilla, aka El Botín, a player for Venezuela who is especially charismatic and charms spectators with his antics surrounding his special "magical" soccer shoes. Ethan's best friend, Sasha plays WorldFootball, a video soccer game, when she's not helping her single mother with her catering business. She's very good, and comes close to making a level where she would go to a tournament in D.C., but loses to another player named "Worminator". Mateo Flores is a social media influencer the kids know, who has 400,000 followers. His father works with the AC Miami team. All three are interested in a scavenger hunt that El Botín sets up for fans, and manage to figure out a couple of the clues and take the required selfies, although Ethan and Mateo don't get along, and try to stop the other from finding the clues. When El Botín's soccer shoes go missing, the star posts on social media that he can't play without him. This escalates after several disastrous games, and he even mentions a curse. When Ethan (who used to live in Mexico City and knows Spanish) is at the AC Miami facility to try out for their academy team and overhears some people talking, he suspects that Mateo's dad might be involved with the disappearance of the shoes. Meanwhile, Sasha's mother gets a catering job with Irina, El Botín's girlfriend, and Irina is so pleased with how Sasha interacts with her cat, Starboy, that she offers to hire her if she needs a cat sitter! Mateo's sister, Cecelia, is planning her quinceanera, which leaves Mateo without parental supervision even more than usual. When the three kids start to work together, they investigate Mateo's father and think they find a box with the shoes. Sneaking aboard Irina's boat, they end up going to El Botín's private island and talking to him. In the end, they are able to convince him to come back to the game. Sasha ends up working her way through the losers' bracket to play the Worminator in a WorldFootball tournament.
Strengths: Who knew there were so many different facets to soccer? This book has Ethan and Sasha playing the sport, Sasha involved in an E Sport version, and Mateo covering professional soccer on social media AND his father involved in the administration of a pro team. There's also the scavenger hunt for fans, and a mystery about El Botín going missing. The three main characters were all different, but worked well together; the tension when Sasha got along with both Ethan and Mateo while the boys didn't like each other was great! I also very much enjoyed the parents being alive but busy with other things. That gave the three plenty of time to get into trouble, sneak around, and end up with their idol on his private island! The information about handmade soccer shoes was touching as well. I've read so many sad middle grade novels recently that this was an absolute delight. Should not have been surprised, since I enjoyed Liu's Near and Deer and Hanna and the Ghost Crab Nation as well.
Weaknesses: There could have been more soccer in the book. While I'm all about a good mystery, I'm always looking for more books about playing the sport, like Layton's The Academy books or Fabbri's Back of the Net series.
What I really think: I will definitely purchase this title, and it is a great choice for readers who loved David A. Kelly's Ballpark Mysteries when they were younger. If you're having a Scholastic book fair, I would make sure to have extras of these on hand, as it will be very popular with kids who like soccer, humorous books, or mysteries.
Ethan Yang loves soccer, and is a big fan of Luis Alamilla, aka El Botín, a player for Venezuela who is especially charismatic and charms spectators with his antics surrounding his special "magical" soccer shoes. Ethan's best friend, Sasha plays WorldFootball, a video soccer game, when she's not helping her single mother with her catering business. She's very good, and comes close to making a level where she would go to a tournament in D.C., but loses to another player named "Worminator". Mateo Flores is a social media influencer the kids know, who has 400,000 followers. His father works with the AC Miami team. All three are interested in a scavenger hunt that El Botín sets up for fans, and manage to figure out a couple of the clues and take the required selfies, although Ethan and Mateo don't get along, and try to stop the other from finding the clues. When El Botín's soccer shoes go missing, the star posts on social media that he can't play without him. This escalates after several disastrous games, and he even mentions a curse. When Ethan (who used to live in Mexico City and knows Spanish) is at the AC Miami facility to try out for their academy team and overhears some people talking, he suspects that Mateo's dad might be involved with the disappearance of the shoes. Meanwhile, Sasha's mother gets a catering job with Irina, El Botín's girlfriend, and Irina is so pleased with how Sasha interacts with her cat, Starboy, that she offers to hire her if she needs a cat sitter! Mateo's sister, Cecelia, is planning her quinceanera, which leaves Mateo without parental supervision even more than usual. When the three kids start to work together, they investigate Mateo's father and think they find a box with the shoes. Sneaking aboard Irina's boat, they end up going to El Botín's private island and talking to him. In the end, they are able to convince him to come back to the game. Sasha ends up working her way through the losers' bracket to play the Worminator in a WorldFootball tournament.
Strengths: Who knew there were so many different facets to soccer? This book has Ethan and Sasha playing the sport, Sasha involved in an E Sport version, and Mateo covering professional soccer on social media AND his father involved in the administration of a pro team. There's also the scavenger hunt for fans, and a mystery about El Botín going missing. The three main characters were all different, but worked well together; the tension when Sasha got along with both Ethan and Mateo while the boys didn't like each other was great! I also very much enjoyed the parents being alive but busy with other things. That gave the three plenty of time to get into trouble, sneak around, and end up with their idol on his private island! The information about handmade soccer shoes was touching as well. I've read so many sad middle grade novels recently that this was an absolute delight. Should not have been surprised, since I enjoyed Liu's Near and Deer and Hanna and the Ghost Crab Nation as well.
Weaknesses: There could have been more soccer in the book. While I'm all about a good mystery, I'm always looking for more books about playing the sport, like Layton's The Academy books or Fabbri's Back of the Net series.
What I really think: I will definitely purchase this title, and it is a great choice for readers who loved David A. Kelly's Ballpark Mysteries when they were younger. If you're having a Scholastic book fair, I would make sure to have extras of these on hand, as it will be very popular with kids who like soccer, humorous books, or mysteries.
March 1, 2026
Wonderful sports story, especially for soccer enthusiasts! Liu has crafted a beautifully written and compelling narrative with the perfect amount of mystery and magic! Highly recommend this charming tale!
March 29, 2026
What a wonderful story of friendship, soccer, and a whodunnit! Can't wait for my children to read!
June 3, 2026
This book may satisfy fans of soccer stories or light mysteries, though I would have liked to see a little more action on the field.
June 19, 2026
Ethan, Sasha and Mateo have a common goal, they all want to win a contest that would give them a chance to go to the World Cup! In order to win they have to solve various clues about their favourite player, El Botin, to reach the final spot that takes them to a pair of soccer cleats that he wore. But while they are searching, the real pair of El Botin’s lucky soccer cleats are stolen, and without them El Botin begins to lose his magic touch. Will Ethan, Sasha and Mateo be able to find them in time for El Botin to make his debut at the World Cup?
This was a fun soccer read, and that’s saying a lot from someone who doesn’t know much about soccer. I enjoyed each of the perspectives we got to follow, they all had their own reasons for wanting to win the World Cup ticket, but also each had their own reasons for wanting to see El Botin be reunited with his lucky boots. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of solving the clues to reach the final task, and how it shifted to trying to discover who stole his shoes. It was a fun fast-paced mystery that will most definitely hook my students! I kind of wish they did something like this in real life for the World Cup this year it would have been amazing!
Who will like it?
✅ Fans of #soccer
✅ Fans of #mysterybooks
✅ Fans of books with multiple povs
#bookreview #middlegradebooks #worldcup
This was a fun soccer read, and that’s saying a lot from someone who doesn’t know much about soccer. I enjoyed each of the perspectives we got to follow, they all had their own reasons for wanting to win the World Cup ticket, but also each had their own reasons for wanting to see El Botin be reunited with his lucky boots. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of solving the clues to reach the final task, and how it shifted to trying to discover who stole his shoes. It was a fun fast-paced mystery that will most definitely hook my students! I kind of wish they did something like this in real life for the World Cup this year it would have been amazing!
Who will like it?
✅ Fans of #soccer
✅ Fans of #mysterybooks
✅ Fans of books with multiple povs
#bookreview #middlegradebooks #worldcup
Review of advance copy received from Author
The author sent me a digital copy. Told in alternating voices of three teens obsessed with the World Cup, this mystery twists and turns as they join together to solve it. Mateo is an influencer whose father manages the Venezuelan soccer team of the famous El Botin. Sasha is a champion online footy player who divides her time between gaming and helping her hard-working mom with her catering business. Her best friend, Ethan, is a talented soccer player.
All three kids are determined to be the winner of a contest to attend the World Cup by completing a scavenger hunt for tickets and other amazing prizes, but they end up working together to find the real life mystery of El Botin’s disappearance and his missing cleats. I liked the message of working together not just to get material things, but because they all love the game and know without El Botin, their beloved team may lose the World Cup. The advice these teens have for El Botin is wise and shows how insightful middle schoolers can be.
All three kids are determined to be the winner of a contest to attend the World Cup by completing a scavenger hunt for tickets and other amazing prizes, but they end up working together to find the real life mystery of El Botin’s disappearance and his missing cleats. I liked the message of working together not just to get material things, but because they all love the game and know without El Botin, their beloved team may lose the World Cup. The advice these teens have for El Botin is wise and shows how insightful middle schoolers can be.
October 27, 2025
Stealing the Score is a fun, soccer-themed mystery with three distinct and well-developed point of view characters. Ethan feels pressure to excel at school and soccer while his best friend Sasha balances playing online with helping her mom grow their catering business. The two meet Mateo, an influencer who can afford the best for his online gaming, at a match where celebrity star El Botín announces a scavenger hunt that promises tickets to attend the World Cup. All three are determined to win the tickets, but when El Botín''s cleats are stolen, the three friends (rivals?) must come together to solve the mystery. This story is great for any reader who enjoys fast-paced mysteries and will especially appeal to soccer fans!
Review of advance copy received from Author
With the World Cup up the horizon, Sylvia Liu's middle grade sports mystery is perfect for soccer fans or those curious about the game. Told from three equally-compelling points of view, Liu's story follows a newly-formed trio of friends in Miami as they celebrate the beautiful game and try to solve the mysterious disappearance of soccer star Luis Alamilla and his superstition-inducing boots. Fast-paced and fun, Liu's story unites three distinct and endearing characters whose passions, backstories, and motivations all seamlessly come to life. This is an excellent pick for any reader interested in sports, mystery fans, and those who enjoy a humorous adventure--it's an absolute treat. The fabulous cover is an added bonus.
Thank you to the author and publisher for an early copy.
Thank you to the author and publisher for an early copy.
October 28, 2025
Part mystery, part adventure, part sports story, all fun! Sylvia Liu's STEALING THE SCORE will delight soccer fans and neophytes alike. It's full of action and intrigue, and will remind young readers of the importance of teamwork. Inspiring and entertaining at once! My thanks to Scholastic for the eARC.
December 2, 2025
Just in time for The World Cup comes this exciting mystery/adventure/celebration of soccer from the imagination of Sylvia Liu!
After three soccer-loving friends set out to win a scavenger hunt created by their favorite player, they find themselves in the middle of a mystery involving the player's boots, which, might be magic. Or might not be. It's a question of what you believe!
A fast-paced, non-stop adventure about teamwork, friendship, and the power that superstitions can have over even the most talented among us.
Ethan, Sasha, and Mateo's quest that will steal your heart—and keep you guessing until the final whistle!
Thank you to the publisher for the E-Arc
After three soccer-loving friends set out to win a scavenger hunt created by their favorite player, they find themselves in the middle of a mystery involving the player's boots, which, might be magic. Or might not be. It's a question of what you believe!
A fast-paced, non-stop adventure about teamwork, friendship, and the power that superstitions can have over even the most talented among us.
Ethan, Sasha, and Mateo's quest that will steal your heart—and keep you guessing until the final whistle!
Thank you to the publisher for the E-Arc
May 9, 2026
Fast paced soccer adventure— love that it’s more about friendship than anything else, love that it features both in person and video game soccer skills. Not the most realistic story in the world, but perfectly pitched for the intended audience. Also, I really enjoyed the importance of bilingual understanding.
May 23, 2026
A middle grade sports book that will appeal to football/soccer fans, especially during this World Cup year. I found the plot a bit unbelievable, but I really enjoyed the three main characters and their interactions. I especially appreciated that Liu let us see Mateo wrestle with the negative side of his social media influencer life without becoming didactic or condemning.
July 15, 2026
Like this middle grade book, I have also gotten pulled into the World Cup soccer mania with Kansas City being a host city. I know my soccer fans will really enjoy this sports mystery. I can’t wait to add it to my middle school library.
February 18, 2026
This is a good sports story. It is also a mystery. It has music and magic. Friendship is another theme. It is really a worth read.
June 22, 2026
Action, mystery, shenanigans, and soccer!! Give this to your sporty kid who thinks they don't like reading and watch these awesome characters change their mind.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews