Customer Reviews

Defending Irene

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Though the story here revolves around soccer--specifically whether or not Irene will ever manage to be accepted as a real player by an otherwise all-male (and male chauvinist) soccer team--and there's plenty of action on the field, it's more than a standard-issue sports story. The characters here are individual and believable and multi-faceted, and the relationships between them are realistic. Kristin Nitz has an engaging style and a great ear for dialogue. As a bonus, she provides the reader with a good deal of information along the way about Italy and the Italian language without being heavy-handed about it. But best thing about the book, to my mind, is the ending. I don't want to spoil it, so let me just say that it's satisfying without attempting to tie everything up TOO neatly, as books--especially books for young readers--too often do.

First of all, the mountainous setting in Italy was a delightful place to find this American-Italian family. I enjoyed the mix of English and Italian sprinkled throughout the book. Irene was a strong, feisty character who mixed it up with the boys and held her ground. I'm not much of a soccer fan, but the game scenes were great and easy to follow. I think girls will enjoy Irene's journey and boys will like the sporting excitement. My 10 year old son enjoyed it and I highly recommend it!!