Soccer Trophy Mystery Book Review

Soccer Trophy Mystery

By Fred Bowen
Published by Peachtree Publishing, September, 2021

Review
Quick summary: Twins Ava and Aiden, and their friend Daniel are 13-year-old soccer players. When they are at the library looking at the championship trophy, they learn it's a replacement because the original vanished 40 years ago. Between playoff games, the friends investigate the disappearance by interviewing Ava and Aiden's ex-librarian grandmother (among others) and reading old newspaper articles on microfilm. Combining the history they learn with hindsight, they are able to unravel the small-town secret.

T and I both enjoyed Soccer Trophy Mystery. I had intended it for Chips and Chapters (where we alternate reading chapters with munching chips), but the ARC format was not comfortable for T, so I read it aloud. The soccer scenes let me have fun with my sportscaster voice! I assume the final print version would be just fine for T to read because the fast-paced mystery novel bridges the early chapter book-middle grade novel divide. Such books are usually designed with developing eyes in mind. With characters we both liked and two exciting plot lines, the content was high-interest. Confession: I read to the end after I put him to bed one night. T got all riled up bouncing off the walls when I read the soccer scenes, but calmly considered where the trophy could be when we were in the thick of the mystery plotline. He also commented on the characters: "I like how she's [Ava's] interested in their games, too, not just her own. Their librarian sure is nice, like ours. I think all librarians are nice." I shan't reveal more and spoil anything for you. I'll simply say that we both enjoyed this fun read. If you're a fan of the Matt Christopher books, I suggest taking a look at Fred Bowen.

Note: A review copy was provided upon request for the purpose of an honest review. All thoughts are our own.

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