The Wild Soccer Bunch: Diego the Tornado by Joachim Masannek

Hi there everyone!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today we dive into the review for the title we sampled in brief yesterday.  This one is perfect for all ages but young boys may find it most appealing....especially those who don't give a flip about reading (the horror).  It gets a strong voice thanks to the author's experiences and teaches a valuable lesson.  May I present the book of choice for today....

The Wild Soccer Bunch:
Diego the Tornado
by
Joachim Masannek

This is book two in an extensive series for young readers and in it we find the Wild Soccer Bunch at the end of the line.  You see, at the end of book one, the gang beat the biggest baddest soccer group around but the high ended up rather short lived.  A new kid's in town and although he loves the game as much as this motley crew, he won't be playing with them anytime soon....especially if his super soccer star father has anything to say about it.

To add insult the injury, when the boys try to find out the reason behind the obvious snub, they're met with a one two punch to both their egos and team spirit.  For a team that was barely a team in the official sense of the word, this could be the end of the line....unless they find a way through the animosity, it very well could mean no more Wild Soccer Bunch.

When I first started reading this, I was less than drawn in.  For me, the technical aspect of the soccer plays were getting me lost...I mean I have no vested interest in the game so a play by play on the events was a bit much for me BUT I kept on reading and I'm glad I did.  Now on to the reasons why...

I loved the range of personalities represented by the characters on the team.  I loved the real life reactions - disbelief, lack of support, ridicule - that the characters faced.  Even if it was tough to see them treated that way, it was real and only served to drive the message home.  What message?  Where to begin!

The story taught that while strength can come from others, it must start with you.  You have to believe in yourself before you can expect others to believe in you....even more so when your goal seems like a long shot.  Perhaps most importantly especially for our competitive little friends....winning isn't everything nor does it always net us a trophy.  Sometimes the richest rewards are not the ones we can see or flaunt...but the ones that are felt and help us become the people we want to be.

All in all, a great experience and one I'd gladly recommend to young readers round the world.  Special thanks to the
Wild Soccer Bunch team for the review copy.  For more information on this great series written by an author who has been there done that (he was actually a coach and the stories were inspired by his experiences), seek out the fully interactive website.

Until next time, as those 'wild' kids would say....all's well as long as you're wild...and happy reading!