Soccer Sabotage: A Graphic Guide Adventure

By Liam O'Donnell and Mike Deas

Nadia is playing for her local soccer team, and they have made it all the way to the national tournament against some very determined opposition. Unfortunately, Nadia's challenges don't just come from her opponents but from her teammates as well. After their coach is injured in a suspicious accident and the threats against the team mount, it is up to Nadia and her younger brother Devin to pull the team together and take a run at the championship. Another wild ride!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Apr 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781551438863

Liam O'Donnell

Liam O'Donnell was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in Canada.  He's lived in Toronto, Canada and is the author of several graphic novels, including the Max Finder Mystery series of you-solve-it comics.  He's never met a pirate and not sure if he ever wants to.  When he's not writing stories, he loves playing video games and going camping, but not at the same time.

Book preview

Reviews for Soccer Sabotage

[librarybrandy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not as strong on the educational content as some of the other offerings in this series, but still a good read. I didn't finish it with the feeling I could play soccer, though, like I did with skateboarding after reading Ramp Rats.

The Orca rep at ALA gave me a copy of this one when I'd raved about the others in this series--I love how information gets slipped in so that kids don't even realize they're learning things.

[brainlair · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

SummaryDevin is the water boy for an all-girls soccer team. With the assistance of Stewart, the coach's son, he attempts to solve the mystery of who pushed Coach down the stairs and who is now trying to ruin their team's chances at the championship.FormatThis graphic novel has great coloring. The illustrations are vivid with fluid lines that give the sense that the players are actually in action. The book also has soccer tips interspersed with the story. To distinguish the tips from the story they are enclosed in rectangular boxes that have a picture of the coach's head.My ThoughtsSoccer Sabotage is great for soccer fans who want a little story with tips. I found the story was predictable and some parts left me with questions. How did the soccer team, who are all under the age of 18, get to and from the hospital and other places without their coach? Who took care of Stewart while his dad was in the hospital? Why did the other girl suddenly start following Nadia?Although I enjoyed the artwork, I felt the story was lacking. It might work for students who don't really enjoy reading all that much. This would be a good way to keep them entertained. I also think that the tips and information were well integrated into the book. They weren't at all intrusive. Using the differently shaped boxes would help readers who need text support to follow along.

[kirbyjack · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Soccer Sabotage by Liam O'Donnell is a fast paced adventure for younger readers. I must admit that I had a hard time focusing on the story, when the pictures were wonderful. I loaned the book to a 10 friend of mine and asked her to read it. She sat down and finished it in 30 minutes and asked if there were any other books like it. That's got to be the best review for this book!

[saltypepper_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I got this as part of the Early Reviewers program. The next morning I woke up to find a note from my 7.5 year old daughter on the kitchen counter."Dear Mama & Papa,I've read this book twice.love, K******PS can you get me the rest of the books?PPS There are more of them. If that's not a glowing endorsement, I don't know what is. In fact she's in the other room reading it to her 3.5 year old brother right now, despite the fact that the graphic novel format is not the easiest to read aloud.

[imdaria78-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book from Library Thing early reviewers. This is one book from an interesting graphic novel series that combines fiction with facts (Graphic Guide Adventures). Brief blurbs with soccer information appear throughout the book. Some sections with soccer instruction are better woven into the story than others but the sections that are not do not really disrupt the flow of the story. The factual information about soccer is fairly basic and would not be useful to children who are experienced soccer players but for those interested in playing or just understanding the game on a beginner level, it is perfect. I enjoyed the story more than I thought I would. The coach and players on a girls' soccer team are being sabotaged as they compete for the championship. The team's two young assistants take it upon themselves to solve the mystery of who is trying to hurt the team. This would be appealing to both girls and boys as the two assistants are younger boys and the team is all girls and both perspectives are well-represented. Any child with an interest in soccer would appreciate the action surrounding the games as well

[bplma_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

i really enjoyed Soccer Sabotage-- the graphics are appealing-- a big must with graphic novels-- and the story is fun and moves along at a quick pace-- always a plus, but a must for graphic novel fans. The Canadian locale and multi-ethnic character base, as well as soccer skills and strategies should make this a real winner with kids-- and maybe even parents-who tend to distrust the format. This is the second sports for kids book i have enjoyed by Orca-- the first, Juice by Eric Walters, was very popular at our library and with my own 10 year old. i will kid test this one too and see if i am right-- it looks like a winner to me.

[paeonia_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

How can this graphic book for children lose? It pushes all the buttons - for adults: multiculturally diverse characters, girls playing sports, lessons in sportsmanship, leadership and soccer, a mystery, and Canadian to boot, all wrapped up in a popular graphic book format. In my opinion, though, the book falls a little flat, perhaps because it tries to do too much. I would be interested to hear the opinion of a younger reader, because I admit to a dislike of any kind of didacticism, even something as innocuous as a soccer lesson, injected into fiction.

[mindylou182 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is a fun and easy read. Sometimes I felt like the rules of soccer slowed the storyline down, but it was useful when the characters talked in soccer lingo. This book was enjoyable and worth reading.