SELECT

Holly Linneman captures the inner voice of 12-year-old Alex, a San Francisco kid with serious soccer talent and a somewhat chaotic homelife. When Alex's mom takes her out of her beloved rec league and signs her up for the fancy Select team, her life is turned upside down. Alex loved her rec team coach, but the new coach is abusive and sexist. Linneman's enthusiastic delivery expresses Alex's pure joy in soccer in a way that is infectious. This is a story of female empowerment, and Linneman's strong voice embodies Alex's developing sense of self. Alex isn't just a strong player on the field; she also chafes at injustice and at her mother's disrespectful and belittling boyfriends. A.B. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2023]