Review of Everybody Wants To Be A Footballer

[Kutloano Makhuvhela]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Everybody Wants To Be A Footballer" by Bryan Ramsay.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Everybody Wants To Be A Footballer is the debut novel by Bryan Ramsay. This young adult novel follows a group of teenagers who love playing football and are forced to come together to form a team. The teenagers all come from diverse backgrounds, where they have gone through a lot of things. But when they are together and play football, they forget all of it and just be in a zone. The author is described as someone who ‘champions the underdogs,’ ‘flips stereotypes,’ and makes his readers empathetic. All of this is proven true in this beautiful debut novel.

Ola is a very colourful and energetic boy. When he is with his friends, he is eager to be involved in all their activities. He lives with his mother and sister, Bhumi. His mother is strict, but not that much. She is not too open for him to play football, as she views it as a waste of time, but at the same time, she has a history with the game that Ola is not familiar with. Ola tries by all means to make his mother happy by going to church to support his sister singing on stage. When he is with his rowdy friends, he matches their energy, and it would be hard to tell him apart.

It happens that while he’s at the football pitch with his friends, they bump into Adebayo and his crew. There is a rivalry there, and they challenge each other in a match. This is for dominance and street cred. No side wants to back down. Ola’s side, backed by Regan, is adamant to show Adebayo that he and his crew are not better than them. While playing, someone comes and makes a proposal to all of them. Now the rivals are made to join forces to play against a side that is certainly better than them. Will this team last more than twenty-four hours? Do girls have something to offer in football, or is it just a men’s game? Who will the scout pick between them?

The answers are in this book. It was such a good book. I had a good time reading it because of the many things the author got right. The first of them all was the characterisation. Ola, as the protagonist, felt very real in terms of his struggles and all he had to juggle between his family and his love for football. The development of him as a character was executed well. His banter with his sister was hilarious and made things feel authentic. The difference in how he talked with his family, especially his mother, and how he talked with his friends at the pitch made it more realistic. The author paid attention to the finer details such as this. The separation of these two worlds was amazing to note. His friends were also perfectly portrayed.

Another thing I liked was the humour. As a YA genre, this book made sure the humour wasn’t forgotten. It kept the characters interesting. I loved that their jokes were about football more than anything. The dialogue was also my favourite aspect of the book. The author included the slang to keep it realistic. The narration was not that much, because the dialogue carried the book most of the time. This made the novel upbeat and moved it at a steady pace.

The action sequences, especially the matches, were perfectly portrayed because of the descriptions. They painted everything vividly, and it felt like I was in the middle of the action. I also loved how the author raised awareness about the impact women have had in football. So the inclusion of characters like Courtney and Sandra balanced everything well. It showed women’s football is not inferior to men’s. This will be inspiring to young girls reading the book.

What I disliked was the profanity in their language. At the beginning, I could stand it because I understood that’s how young and free teenagers spoke. But as it moved forward, it got a bit too much and unnecessary. I also disliked the errors. Most had to do with punctuation more than grammar. So that affected my reading experience. Another round of editing is needed to polish the book because it has the potential to be the best.

In conclusion, I rate this book four out of five stars. I knocked one star off because of all I have mentioned in my dislikes. I strongly recommend it to young adults, of course, and those who are interested in this genre of YA. If football is your sport, then this is your book. For a debut novel, the author has done a great job. It was relaxing, unbelievable, and funny, all at the same time.

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Everybody Wants To Be A Footballer
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[Kibet Hillary]

Nice to read that the character development in the book was topnotch and that the author employed humor richly as well. More importantly, I am happy that the book demonstrates the power of unity in diversity and how incredible friendships can be built. Thanks for the review, @Kutloano Makhuvhela.

[Elavarasi Charles]

Humor is my favourite aspect of a book any day, and the book seems to have plenty of it. The boys vs. girls rivalry seems to be interesting, too. I despise unnecessary profanity, and just like you said, for the YA genre, it could be curbed a little with another round of editing, addressing the punctuation errors. Overall, it seems like a good, action-filled story that entertains without fail. Thank you for your detailed review!

[Laney K]

Ola seems to be a well-developed character. I also think the elements of humor are enticing. Thanks for the informative review!