Roy of the Rovers – On Tour

Tom Palmer's On Tour is a Roy of the Rovers football story for 8 year olds about a young striker who suddenly isn't sure where he stands at his own club.

What happens

Roy Race grew up queueing for a season ticket at Mel Park. Now he plays there, and Melchester Rovers have just been promoted. So why is a fan asking if he's come to clear out his locker?

Then two new players appear in the number nine and eleven shirts, the very numbers Roy and his mate Paco were hoping to wear. And Coach, the most straight-talking man Roy knows, can't look him in the eye.

The squad fly off for a pre-season tournament in Tromsø, right up in the Arctic, where it's still light at midnight. Hundreds of Norwegian Rovers fans are waiting for them at the airport (at midnight!). Roy starts on the bench. When he does get on, something very odd is happening. Nobody will tackle him.

The match scenes are brilliant. They're quick and easy to follow even if your reader isn't a football expert, and you're right there with Roy as he runs at the defence. There's lots off the pitch too. His sister Rocky plays for a girls' team coached by his girlfriend Ffion, and the physio gives the lads a proper telling-off for laughing at the women's game.

Roy's dad is seriously ill, and that runs right through the book. A brain tumour has left him in a wheelchair and barely able to speak, and at the airport Roy can see he isn't right. Roy worries about him the whole way. For a child with someone poorly at home, that might feel close. It's also very sweet how badly Roy wants to score a goal for him.

It follows on from Roy's first season at Rovers, but it catches you up quickly. The mystery at the club keeps you turning the pages, and so does Roy's promise to be home in time for Ffion's big match. Will his plane make it?

What to read next

If football stories are their thing, try Tom Palmer's Free Kick. James is a promising young defender at United with a famous footballing dad, and he isn't at all sure he wants to be a footballer.