• Age: 10 to 13
• Grade: 2

"Deftly deals with the topic of women in full-contact sports." — School Library Journal

Highlighting rugby, the fastest growing sport in America, this book tackles the issue of girls playing full-contact sports. Maddy and her friends are a small town group determined to form a girls' junior rugby team while they navigate learning both the rules of the game and the rules set out by the school board. The adults are concerned about the girls' safety and even Maddy worries that she is too small for the rough game. But the persistence of the diverse group of girls wins the day and the book becomes a celebration of the empowerment and self-esteem young girls get from participating in sports.

MIKE LEVITT has played, coached and refereed high-school rugby. He wrote the curriculum for his school district's grade 11 rugby course, had a newspaper column in the Williams Lake Tribune, has had short stories published in British Columbia Magazine and is the author of the Lorimer Sports Stories novel Rugby Rivals. Mike works as a mental health clinician with the Lillooet Tribal Council. He lives in Kamloops, BC.

Mike Levitt's profile page

"Full of action and is a relatively short book with vocabulary within reach of most middle years reading levels."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"Suited to reluctant readers because it is an exciting and well-told story with lots of action."

BC Teachers' Federation

"Deftly deals with the topic of women in full-contact sports."

School Library Journal

"An engaging coming-of-age story."

BC Teachers' Federation

"The diversity within the members of the rugby team reflects the makeup of most Canadian schools and gives readers a chance to identify with characters from many backgrounds."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials