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Pride
"Dreams mean nothing unless you have the courage to pursue them."
Luke Miggs wants more than what small-town life has to offer – the grind of chores on the family farm, playing footy, and drinks with friends. Like maybe doing something about his crush on Amanda Hunt, a barmaid at the local who’s smart, funny, and ambitious. Or playing footy in the big league. At eighteen, it can’t be too late, can it?
There’s the Ravens, at least, although the team’s little more than battlers. If only they could take their footy seriously, like the reigning champions, the Little Reach Scorpions. Under their tyrannical coach, Claude Rankin, the Scorpions have dominated the competition for ten years. It seems nothing will be different this season.
But when Adam Pride emerges from the night and tells the Ravens he wants to play for them, everything begins to change.
Pride is a story of friendship and bonds and coming of age, and how the choices of our past can come back to shape our future.
Luke Miggs wants more than what small-town life has to offer – the grind of chores on the family farm, playing footy, and drinks with friends. Like maybe doing something about his crush on Amanda Hunt, a barmaid at the local who’s smart, funny, and ambitious. Or playing footy in the big league. At eighteen, it can’t be too late, can it?
There’s the Ravens, at least, although the team’s little more than battlers. If only they could take their footy seriously, like the reigning champions, the Little Reach Scorpions. Under their tyrannical coach, Claude Rankin, the Scorpions have dominated the competition for ten years. It seems nothing will be different this season.
But when Adam Pride emerges from the night and tells the Ravens he wants to play for them, everything begins to change.
Pride is a story of friendship and bonds and coming of age, and how the choices of our past can come back to shape our future.
282 pages, Paperback
Published April 27, 2017
13 people want to read
About the author
Lazaros Zigomanis
4 books7 followersLazaros Zigomanis is a Young Adult author who is interested in exploring important personal and social themes through the craft of storytelling.
His YA novel, 'Pride' (Busybird Publishing), explores themes of racism, choices, and dreams, through the backdrop of a country football league.
A versatile author, Lazaros has had short stories and articles published in various print and digital journals, as well as several screenplays optioned.
He is currently working on a new novel, 'This', which is about a 15-year-old protagonist who deals with the onset of neurosis while navigating the social perils of friends, high school, and his oppressive Greek parents.
His YA novel, 'Pride' (Busybird Publishing), explores themes of racism, choices, and dreams, through the backdrop of a country football league.
A versatile author, Lazaros has had short stories and articles published in various print and digital journals, as well as several screenplays optioned.
He is currently working on a new novel, 'This', which is about a 15-year-old protagonist who deals with the onset of neurosis while navigating the social perils of friends, high school, and his oppressive Greek parents.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 14, 2017
There was a lot to like about Pride; the very Australian setting - a small country town, the people ("warts and all") and their passion... football. Luke, the young and possibly up and coming football star, was a very likable character and it was interesting watching him develop. The author did a great job drawing the reader into the story by artfully describing the rivalry between the football teams, the action on the football field (even though I'm not really into footy that much I found it very engaging). and the pre and post game atmosphere. The tension between the Ravens (Luke's team) and the Scorpions (the team that seems invincible and led by the villainous, Rankin) is palpable. The author does create an air of mystery surrounding the new player, Adam Pride, and keeps the reader guessing about his past but I'm not sure it all gels together seamlessly. At times the description is spot on and evocative at other times it is lacking and produced "flat" spots in the story. Some aspects just needed more work - like really delving into why Luke's dad eventually opens up to him. It would be a great book for all footy loving students at our secondary school but the sex scene means that we can't recommend it to the juniors. As the whole intimate relationship between Luke and Amanda wasn't written very well, it would have been better to have just alluded to the "main event" rather than describe it (in my opinion), leaving the book open to all age groups.
June 12, 2017
Luke Miggs wants to play great football. But his dreams are bigger than the small town team he plays for. A highly talented Aboriginal player joins Luke's team, but mystery surrounds his sudden appearance and his motivation for playing with the Ulah Ravens. Luke and his journalist girlfriend become entangled in seemingly random events which draw together justice, revenge and the football grand final. With powerful subplots of racism, first love and growing up, even those not interested in football will engage with the story. 'Pride' is essentially about choosing to be the best version of yourself and having the courage to follow through.
May 28, 2017
Pride is a rare novel that tackles the topics of sport violence, growing up in the country, and indigenous racism, and ties it all to respect for the sport of football.
The story revolves around a young man from the country coming into his own, and the surrounding events of a mystery Aborigine player through a season of football. Even though I'm not a huge fan of the game, I found myself interested in following the matches in the story as the pacing keeps it moving and relevant. The grand final brings a twist that will have you believing in justice.
Aimed at readers who enjoy teen and young adult books, I'd like to see 'Pride' introduced into classrooms for pre-teens and teens to read and take in the values and the inspiration within.
The story revolves around a young man from the country coming into his own, and the surrounding events of a mystery Aborigine player through a season of football. Even though I'm not a huge fan of the game, I found myself interested in following the matches in the story as the pacing keeps it moving and relevant. The grand final brings a twist that will have you believing in justice.
Aimed at readers who enjoy teen and young adult books, I'd like to see 'Pride' introduced into classrooms for pre-teens and teens to read and take in the values and the inspiration within.
July 27, 2018
DNF at 41%
“Pride” is for a young man called Adam Pride, as told by our narrator, Luke. The book gives insight into rugby (footy) and small-town Australia, as well as the underlying issues of racism. Although Adam was intriguing and the storytelling was insightful, I struggled to connect with Luke and I felt like the plot was very slow. I’m sure fans of the sport will enjoy it, but it was simply not for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“Pride” is for a young man called Adam Pride, as told by our narrator, Luke. The book gives insight into rugby (footy) and small-town Australia, as well as the underlying issues of racism. Although Adam was intriguing and the storytelling was insightful, I struggled to connect with Luke and I felt like the plot was very slow. I’m sure fans of the sport will enjoy it, but it was simply not for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 18, 2018
Pride is one of those books, the ones that start like a small nudge and before you know it, you're sucked into an unraveling. I wanted to read this book when I saw it on NetGalley because I loved the cover and second, the description promised quite some story and turns out it did deliver mystery, life in a small town, secret pasts, football and racism. I'll say that this is quite a wonderful debut from the author and I hope to read more of his books in the future.
May 8, 2020
A fabulous young adult read. Set in a small Australian town where the most exciting thing happening is the local AFL football team. Adam has lived in Ulah all his life, he is a good footballer but does not know what he wants from life. When a new player comes to play for the Ulah Ravens, they start winning games and Adam starts to think maybe he has a future in the 'big smoke' playing football.
March 3, 2024
A deep, spirited, and heartfelt story of friendship, connections, and the journey into adulthood, where the echoes of our past decisions bounce back into our future.
June 30, 2017
I don't even like football ... so go figure.
It's not often you find a book that engages with sport, racialism, and first love SUCCESSFULLY. "Pride" does just that. On top of that, it is a coming of age book, one of my favourite types, and I was hooked from the get-go. LOVE the cover. It's absolutely stunning. Doing the content justice. I am so looking forward to seeing more from this author!
It's not often you find a book that engages with sport, racialism, and first love SUCCESSFULLY. "Pride" does just that. On top of that, it is a coming of age book, one of my favourite types, and I was hooked from the get-go. LOVE the cover. It's absolutely stunning. Doing the content justice. I am so looking forward to seeing more from this author!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews