Roy of the Rovers – Scouted

Tom Palmer's Roy of the Rovers Scouted is a football story for 8 year olds about a teenage striker with one summer of practice behind him and a very big dream ahead.

What happens

Roy Race has just made his debut for the Grimroyd Under-18s. He spent the whole holiday volleying a ball in his back yard. Within minutes he's flat on the grass, marked by a giant whose arms are thicker than Roy's legs.

Then the coach drops some news. Johnny Dexter, an old Melchester Rovers legend, is scouting the local leagues for an expanded youth squad. And Rovers are the club Roy has loved his whole life.

So Roy trains like mad. Press ups and burpees at six in the morning. Then the Terrible 200, a flight of steps everyone else takes the bus to avoid (he does it twice!). He even sneaks into the empty stadium at night to run up and down the stand.

There's plenty going on off the pitch too. Rovers are bottom of League Two and running out of money. Their city rivals have just signed Roy's favourite player for a record fee, and a couple of Tynecaster fans at college won't let him forget it. And there's a red-haired girl on the bus whose jokes about Tynecaster's new stadium make him laugh out loud.

It's a really easy read even if your reader doesn't know a corner from a throw-in. The sentences are short and punchy. The matches fly by, and you're right there with Roy as he works out how to stay on his feet against much bigger lads.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Roy's dad had an operation on a brain tumour that went wrong. He's in a wheelchair now, paralysed down one side and barely able to speak, and Roy helps him get up and dressed every day. It's there from the very first chapters rather than a twist. The cast is older than your reader as well, as Roy is sixteen and at college.

For a child with someone poorly at home, that might feel very close. It's handled with a lot of warmth, though. The groundsman saves Roy's dad the best seat at Mel Park. And Roy's sister Rocky teases him mercilessly over breakfast, then asks why there are no girls' teams on the Moor (she's expecting Roy to sort it). Who wouldn't cheer for a family like that?

What to read next

If they love the idea of being spotted by a big club, try Tom Palmer's Boys United. Jake is a brilliant left winger who keeps hearing that he's too small, and his trial at United is only days away.