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

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Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. but some wise words along the way help Jaz to understand that life’s circumstances do not have to define her, and her own personal successes and failures don’t have to be tied up with the things in life that are simply beyond her control. If you have a child in your life who really loves football/soccer, you could gift them this book, as I think it will be enjoyable for them even if I didn't love it. Jaz is finding school difficult and is being labeled a troublemaker, but things are also difficult for her at home because her parents are fighting a lot.

I might be a tad bit biased, but I’m giving this 5 stars for the amount of effort, joy, heart and soul I put into it. For example, there is zero funding and resources for the girl’s football team because all the money is invested in the boys’ team. The plot overall was a pretty standard sports fiction plot, with the addition of some other themes, but I don't think they were handled particularly well.

However, the story didn’t feel especially memorable, the levels of serendipity are overwhelming even for a middle-grade, and the majority of the characters (excluding Jaz herself) were two-dimensional at best.

There are quite a few characters in the book, which makes it hard to get to grips with them all, but they’ll be more-fully explored in other books in “The Dream Team” series. That’s the fantastic message of this book - it might be harder for you, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it. the tricky subject of parental separation with grace, offering fictional scenarios which entertained as well as subtly pointing the way for young people to help build their resiliency.

By clearly listing the financial barriers girls and women face, Mante paints a realistic world and provides relatable solutions. The boys in Jaz’ class were threatened by a girl who is talented at football and many of the teachers had no interest in helping the girls to get funding or even training for their team. The school won't provide money or a coach for a girls' football team, so Jaz convinces a group of friends to join her and raise the money themselves. Jaz Santos vs the World is the first in a new series about a girl who gathers an unlikely group of friends together to make their own girls football team. Thinking carefully about how to sell the idea to her classmates, Jaz pours heart and soul into rallying a team of girls to prepare for the tournament.