Ten Thousand Tries by Amy Makechnie - OPTIONAL

Ten Thousand Tries by Amy Makechnie, 384 pages. Atheneum Books for Young Readers (Simon & Schuster), 2021. $18 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG (terminal illness); Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Golden is a soccer-obsessed 8th grader at Mudbury Middle School. Unfortunately, he is also the smallest boy in his grade, the only boy in his family, unlikely to be voted in as team captain, and may lose his best friend if she moves away from him. Worse than all of that is his dad's terminal bout with ALS that isn't going away. 

Golden's fierce attempts to make things stay the way they are will tug at any reader's heart-strings. The way family, friends, and the community rally to support Golden and his family in their struggle is ideal and inspiring. It is a relatively long, somewhat slow narrative, especially given the age-group of its intended audience, but soccer enthusiasts and tender-hearted readers will likely enjoy this story. 

Mrs. V, third-grade teacher