Starred review from May 9, 2011
South African writer Williams (The Genuine Half-Moon Kid) delves deeply into the oppression, poverty, and xenophobia that plague so many nations in Africa in this gut-wrenching story of an outcast, soccer-loving teen from Zimbabwe. When 14-year-old Deo's village is ravaged by soldiers, he must flee with his older brother, Innocent, who suffered brain damage at birth, which has left him childlike and sometimes unmanageable. The obstacles the boys must overcomeâtraveling with no shoes and little money, confronting a hungry lion in a wild game reserve, and repeatedly withstanding prejudice and mistreatment as unwanted refugeesâmove the story along briskly, while its genuine and relatable characters keep it grounded. There is plenty of material to captivate readers: fast-paced soccer matches every bit as tough as the players; the determination of Deo and his fellow refugees to survive unthinkably harsh conditions; and raw depictions of violence ("The fear eats at us, burns us.... Nobody knows where the men with sticks and axes will be"). But it's the tender relationship between Deo and Innocent, along with some heartbreaking twists of fate, that will endure in readers' minds. Ages 12âup.
Starred review from June 1, 2011
A harrowing tale of modern Zimbabwe.
Soccer and his loving family got Deo, 15, through lean times in Zimbabwe. Now that Mugabe's soldiers have destroyed his village and killed most residents, the only family Deo has left is Innocent, the older, mentally disabled brother he's always looked after. When they join others fleeing to safety, Innocent's unpredictable behavior proves dangerous, yet also saves their lives. After a terrifying crossing of the Limpopo River and run through a lion-infested game preserve, they're rescued by a farmer and given paid work, food and shelter. South Africa is no safe haven for the refugees, however; local residents resent them. Leaving the farm only brings new dangers. Deo struggles to protect Innocent from a rising tide of xenophobia in which the newcomers are demonized by desperately poor South Africans who see them as a threat. Drugs offer an escape from the brutalities of violent crime and hatred, but there's another option: street soccer and a chance to compete in its international world cup. Originally published in South Africa, this 2009 novel is gripping, suspenseful and deeply compassionate.
Williams, a renowned dramatist, gives readers compelling characters and, in simple language, delivers a complicated story rooted—sadly and upliftingly—in very real events. (author's note, glossary) (Fiction. 12 & up)
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
Starred review from September 1, 2011
Gr 7 Up-In Zimbabwe, 14-year-old Deo's life is hard but filled with family, love, and soccer. Then soldiers attack his village and send Deo and his mentally disabled brother, Innocent, running toward South Africa. Their way is complicated by a dangerous river crossing, a game preserve filled with lions, and xenophobia. Everywhere these brothers go there are unending waves of hatred and fear. It is this hatred that threatens to break Deo when violence claims Innocent's life. However, he is able to resurrect and reclaim his own life and hope through soccer. Williams tells his story simply and unflinchingly with depictions of tremendous violence, hard-fought soccer matches, and the loving bond between the brothers. Deo's narration provides an immediacy that is only compounded by the tale's fast pacing and suspense. The author gives readers complicated and compelling characters for whom they will cheer, cry with, and love.-Naphtali L. Faris, Youth Services Consultant, Missouri State Library, Jefferson City, MO
Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 15, 2011
Grades 7-12 Deo, 14, is playing soccer with his friends in his Zimbabwe village when soldiers arrive, destroy everything, and kill his mother. Running for his life while caring for his older, mentally disabled brother, Innocent, Deo takes his homemade soccer ball with him as they flee across the border to South Africa. Told in the young teen's first-person, present-tense narrative, the survival adventure follows the brothers as they crawl beneath barbed wire, wade through the Limpopo River, run barefoot near dangerous wild animals, and find work picking tomatoes for a white farmer before seeking shelter in the rough townships outside Johannesburg and Cape Town, where they face grim xenophobia. Based on his interviews with Zimbabwean refugee boys on the Cape Town streets, Williams captures the refugees' anguish, and Deo's realistic relationship with his brother is heartbreaking. Along with the sorrow, though, is the detailed sports action, as Deo escapes through soccer, and the exciting game specifics climax when Deo kicks the winning goal in the 2010 Street Soccer World Cup final.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2012
The brutal massacre by government soldiers of his small Zimbabwe village sends fourteen-year-old soccer devotee Deo and his mentally disabled older brother, Innocent, fleeing to South Africa. There Deo is invited to join the soccer team that will represent South Africa in the Street Soccer World Cup. This incisive portrait of sub-Saharan Africa is a compelling mix of suspense, sports, and social injustice.
(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
July 1, 2011
The brutal massacre by government soldiers of his small Zimbabwe village sends fourteen-year-old soccer devotee Deo and his mentally disabled older brother, Innocent, fleeing to a refugee camp in South Africa. The brothers find underpaid work at a farm before eventually leaving for the promise of the big city of Johannesburg. Once there, however, they are forced to live on the streets, and when xenophobic violence breaks out, it claims the life of Innocent. Heartbroken, Deo moves on to Cape Town, where he finally catches a break: he is invited to join the soccer team that will represent South Africa in the Street Soccer World Cup. Williams skillfully draws the plight of these refugee brothers with both suspense and sympathy, and readers cannot help but root for them in their quest to rebuild their broken lives. It's uplifting that Deo is able to resurrect his passion for soccer as a means to better his life, while sports as a means to unify a divided South Africa recalls the movie Invictus and evokes similar emotions. Williams joins Beverly Naidoo and Allan Stratton with this incisive portrait of sub-Saharan Africa, a compelling mix of suspense, sports, and social injustice. jonathan hunt
(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)