Kick Off

Chasing a Rugby Dream #1

by James Hook, David Brayley (Primary Contributor)

Small, skinny and short-sighted . . . and dazzlingly talented.

Jimmy Joseph loves rugby. All he dreams about is one day playing for his country in a World Cup, or winning a Test series for the Lions with a last-minute drop-goal. But when he kicks an up-and-under in the schoolyard and accidentally hits the new head of PE, Mr Kane, on the head, he makes a powerful enemy.

Jimmy and his best friends - Manu, Scott and Kitty - try to prove their worth on the rugby field, but to no avail. Mr Kane has it out for them, and he's being helped by team captain Mike Green, well known as the school bully.

Can Jimmy and his friends overcome the tyranny of Mr Kane and help Mike see the error of his ways? Or will the combination of bullying, pressure and dirty tactics derail the friends' rugby careers before they have even begun?

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published December 1, 2020

About the author

James Hook (3 June 1746 – 1827) was an English composer and organist

Father of Theodore Edward Hook.

Reviews

[Mr Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his introduction to this children's novel, James says the book came from his frustration at not being able to find a rugby story he could read with his young son.

It is to his and his co-writer's credit that they didn't fall into the easy trap of creating a rugby equivalent of Roy of the Rovers where our hero Jimmy saves the day with yet another injury time try. Instead the book focuses on adversity and the toughness of Jimmy's young life, tackling subjects like bullying and his one-parent upbringing.

That said, the story is a sometimes romantic one full of good moments and humour and the writing captures the innocence of a group of young friends playing the sport they love.

The book cries out for a sequel or a series, as I'm sure readers will love Jimmy and his friends and yearn to see how they grow and develop.

An excellent read for children (and the young at heart sports fan!).

[Jacob Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a south african boy who's dream is to be on the springboks. He is also rugby obsessed and is often late to school watching hughlights. My favourite part of the story is his grandpas war stories. My favourite character is His grandpa as he is so funny and intersting. I learned that no dream is impossible.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book ever!!!!!!

[Niamh McNulty · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is so bad, I'm sorry. I know it's only a children's book, but it really should not have been published in the condition it was published in. It should be used as an exercise for students to correct all the spelling and punctuation errors. I tried to keep track of all the negatives but there are far too many and I gave up altogether.

Here are a select few:
- He/she used interchangeably about the same character.
- The children don't speak like children and use very advanced strange vocabulary.
- For a book set in Wales, there is a lot of American words used e.g. backpack instead of schoolbag
- Different spelling of words within the same paragraph: backpack to back pack
- Bizarre details that have only been added as tropes such as Mr Kane having garlic on his breath at 8am in the morning.
- There is a misplaced comma on page 37.
- Spelling mistake "completely unawares" supposed to be "completely unaware".
- Description of the sun's position makes no sense. There is a darkening sky in a place surrounded by mountains in the evening and later on (after sunset?) there is sunlight glinting off a necklace. Page 77.
- No capital letter to begin a sentence. Page 77.
- No space in between sentences. Page 77.
- "In a few minutes time he be driving away in a..." Spelling mistake. Page 78.
- Incontinuity with writing "thirty miles per hour" becomes "twenty-miles-per-hour" within the same paragraph. Page 79.

Honestly, this is a publisher problem as it has not been thoroughly checked (or even checked at all in some parts?). This does not set a good example for my students who have also noticed these mistakes.

[Lewis Morley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very motivating for younger fly-halfs to copy.
Great book 📙.