The Life Of Riley
By Tom Allen
I happened to be lucky and win an copy of book 1 of the Middle-Grade football based nove – The Life Of Riley from Reading Rocks. I will be donating it to the community library for a class of kids who are football fans and love books on it. It’s a book that deals with other issues too, which makes it great for getting sporty kids and non-sporty kids into this series. I highly recommend it and you can find the reasons why in my review below.
Blurb
Riley Adams has three passions in life: family, friends and football. Despite often finding school difficult, Riley finds happiness in friendships with his ‘band of brothers and sisters’, who play for his beloved Highfield Flyers FC.
Riley and the Flyers learn to play together and focus, bringing them great moments and taking them close to glory. Rivalries form and the desire to win grows until…
Riley’s world is turned upside down when his mum receives life-changing news.
Can he really care about football again? What will happen to Mum? How will he cope with life now?
Review
The Life of Riley is excellently pitched for 9-12 year olds. It’s part of the Football Dream Series. Football series of books are growing and kids are enthused by them. This one has all the sporty, football excitement you would expect, whilst also dealing with other life issues. Riley’s mum isn’t well and his concern feels real. He also knows a thing or two about bullies. There’s also the friendships he builds along the way and how this helps him to cope with some very sad news. It shows how caring and pulling together can bring some positivity and build some resilience.
It’s all very relatable for children. It may spark conversation or just some quiet thought.
The ups and downs of the game and life is balanced really well.
The chapters are short with characters you can really care about, with a life-affirming plot, it’s a book I reckon many children will enjoy.
Bookmarks and Stages by Lou 