The Dream Team: Jaz Santos vs. the World (The Dream Team, 1)

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Jaz’s worries and emotional stress are primarily due to the lack of transparency from her parents about their problems in an attempt to protect Jaz. A delightful story of a young girl who just wants to play soccer (football to the rest of the world) and to keep her parents together. The story followed Jaz Santos who decides to compete in a football competition and starts a new team. It truthfully explores the sexism in society and schools, whereby boys get all the football equipment, time and investment, showing how girls are shut out of sport from the earliest age. But Jaz knows herself well enough to know that she wants, and she's determined and clever enough to push past the NOs and a system that's intent on maintaining the out-dated and incredibly sexist norms to go out and get what she wants: a girl's 7-on-7 soccer club.

Although her parents tried to hide their discord from her, she, like all children, is observant and sensitive to the cracking foundations of her family. And of course, the message that girls can do anything is an absolutely great one, and I loved seeing the Bramrock Stars proving girls can play football too.I think Jaz’s wonderfully distinctive and fun narrative voice was probably my biggest highlight here, because I just loved the way she saw the world and all her nicknames for people and I got so frustrated alongside her when people just kept misunderstanding her.

With her parent's constant arguments and several of her teachers endlessly irritated by Jaz's enthusiastic and sometimes untamed nature, she's having a rough year. I am incredibly thankful to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children’s UK for my chance to read an ARC of this book and I am excited to continue this series in future. Serious issues are explored with sensitivity and humour, creating a funny, moving and uplifting tale. Not only was the main character's voice hardly that of a 10 years old, but it read like the author had forgotten what it is like to be a child.Thank you to Penguin Random House Children’s UK and NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review. It is vital that children understand how to learn from their mistakes but also learn that each student must be treated and valued equally. Jaz is a spunky, lovable heroine, who sometimes gets in trouble, but always has the best intentions. For example, there is zero funding and resources for the girl’s football team because all the money is invested in the boys’ team. Thank you to the author, NG UK and the publishers for the opportunity it read an E-Arc of this fantastic story.