about the book
In the small town of Enniston, Tom Bouchard is king of his high school. He is captain of the soccer team, his grades have ranked him third in his class, and he is dating one of the prettiest cheerleaders around. He could probably win scholarships to any college he applied for—if he would ever get off his butt and fill out applications.
Then the events of September 11, 2001, rock the nation, and soon Enniston becomes a center for Somalian migration. Now Tom’s school is flooded with African Muslims who speak barely any English, and the multicultural stew seems ready to boil over as mistrust and racism come into play.
However, Tom couldn’t be happier with his new Somali teammates. They really know the sport, especially Saeed. Out of nowhere he flies onto the field and seems able to make impossible shots and saves.
Suddenly, Tom’s team is challenging their top rivals—and winning! And just as suddenly, Saeed and the Somalians are gone as their eligibility to play and the legality of their migration are called into question.
After an ill-advised prank goes wrong, and Tom gets caught and sentenced with community service, Tom realizes he is responsible for his actions and must take steps towards his future, or else it will slip away from him.
about the author
Maria Padian is the daughter of two immigrants. Her mother was Spanish and didn’t learn English until she was five. Maria’s father was Irish and never could learn Spanish. So when Maria’s mother and father met, it was decided that English would be the family language, and to this day Maria regrets not knowing more Spanish.
If not for her mother, Maria would probably not have become a writer—or a reader! When she and her siblings were little, Maria’s mother told them that she would not buy them every toy they wanted, but she would buy them every BOOK they wanted. With that kind of childhood, it is little wonder Maria grew up to be a reader and writer!
The outdoors have always been a part of Maria’s life. When she was little, her parents took the family from New York to a small town in New Jersey, which was the first place where Maria heard crickets instead of cars at night and deer came into their backyard. Maria’s first college, Middlebury College in Vermont, had as next-door neighbors several farm fields with cows. After Maria met and married her husband and started a family in Atlanta, Georgia, they moved to Washington, D.C. But Maria and her family again moved to the country, this time in Brunswick, Maine, near to the coast.
Maria still lives in Maine with her husband. Their children have all grown up and flown the nest, but she has a dog named Frisbee; if Frisbee had opposable thumbs, she would probably be smart enough to rule the world.
Source:
Author website
Also by Maria Padian:
Jersey Tomatoes Are the Best. Knopf Books for Young Readers. 2011.
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