Walaupun di puluhan halaman pembuka aku merasa bosan dan mulai memupuskan ekspaktasi besarku pada novel ini, tapi akhirnya terjawab dengan munculnya bagian kisah baru dari kehidupan Budi ini. There is uproar in the factory as the foreman threatens everyone that they will suffer unless and until the thief is identified. This book is endorsed by Amnesty International and the reasons for this are made explicitly clear throughout. There is also an earthquake in which Budi’s Grandma dies and Rochy’s mother and sisters go missing and are presumed dead. In this excellent football story, set in modern-day South America, a hackneyed football reporter sits down with El Gato (the Cat), a World Cup-winning goalkeeper, to look back on his amazing life and career.

The first few chapters of this story focus on Budi's life as a factory worker living in a poor district of Jakarta. As much as I hope Kick will shed light on a desperate global issue, I feel it must also remain a testament to the transcendent, unifying power of sport.

It's wonderful, addressing exploitation of child labour and using football to drive home the stark inequality present in our world.

From here on in the book becomes altogether darker, there are some violent and some upsetting scenes, and some younger readers may need reassurance and support from their parents. His debut novel, Kick, was endorsed by Amnesty International UK for its portrayal of children's rights and has been translated into multiple languages. Budi works in a footwear factory in Indonesia, making the football boots he longs to wear but is unlikely to ever afford. He tells Budi that if he fails to deliver, then his family will be evicted and they will have to go and live in the slums.I'll try not to give anything away but, in effect: there is something that happens towards the end of the book which COULD potentially have changed the course of a character's life and the way things turned out really annoyed me! Fearing the faint tremor of an earthquake and the crack in his ceiling surely getting bigger, with time ticking will Budi be able to make things right? He’s going to play for the greatest team on earth, rather than in the square behind the factory where he works. This has been a great success with our Y6 boys in particular, and I've finally, in a World Cup come-down, got round to reading it.

The community is also threatened by corruption; a local gangster, the Dragon, extorts protection money from local businesses and residents with impunity due to his familial links with the head of the police, and is reputed to have murdered his own brother. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. This is a fast-paced story about big dreams, bravery and fighting for justice up until the final whistle.The trouble with being a dreamer is that occasionally you’ll have nightmares – you’ve just got to make sure they don’t ever spook you enough to want to wake up. Budi and his friends spend all their free time playing football, role-playing their favourite teams and stars. First, although a good novel for football fans, which also gives a honest insight into child labour, I wouldn't recommend this book for under 10 year old. Kick deals with issues such as poverty, child labour and human rights in a way that proves we share more than makes us different. Whilst I wasn't blown away with what he could do with the writing, what he could do with the story was far more important to me and he nailed that on the head.