Taking us back to first world war London, Rebecca Stevens delivers a tale of war, family and friendships but above all an inspirational story of ladies’ football.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable and realistic portrayal of a young woman’s plight during the First World War, the danger of the chemicals that some women were exposed to, the empowerment of women during this time and the realisation, once the war is over, that life would never be the same again.

Jaz Santos vs the World is the first in a new series about a girl who gathers an unlikely group of friends together to make their own girls’ football team. This is an inclusive and empowering tale with a real-life feel that will appeal to fans of Cath Howe and Jacqueline Wilson.

Circumstances in Jaz’s life are starting to feel out of control. She has been in trouble at school, kicked out of dance club and is dealing with the growing cracks in her parents’ relationship, culminating in a house fire and her mum eventually moving out. There’s more on her mind too – Jaz loves football and often plays with the boys at lunchtimes, but is excluded from the school team because girls are not allowed to play.

When Jaz finds a leaflet advertising a girls’ football tournament, she seizes the opportunity to take back some control. Thinking carefully about how to sell the idea to her classmates, Jaz pours heart and soul into rallying a team of girls to prepare for the tournament. From fundraising to training, Jaz leaves no stone unturned – with her passionate hopes of proving that girls can be taken seriously in football matched only by her desire to get mum back. Deep down, Jaz wonders whether winning the tournament might magically solve all of the other problems in her life too, but some wise words along the way help Jaz to understand that life’s circumstances do not have to define her, and her own personal successes and failures don’t have to be tied up with the things in life that are simply beyond her control.

With girls’ football growing more popular than ever, this is an empowering book with a dynamic and entertaining main character who shows what can happen when somebody leads the way in a new sporting initiative. The discrimination against Jaz as a girl wanting to be taken seriously in football feels frustrating and unfair, but Jaz is passionate and triumphant to show what can be achieved with a little determination. Some of the other girls have no interest in the sport before Jaz recruits them to the team, but the story shows how beneficial the opportunity to join in is for them in different ways. The author Priscilla Mante says of the book, “Girls’ football and women’s football don’t get the attention they should do and it was really important for me, through Jaz, to challenge the status quo.”

This timely and heart-warming story about teamwork, self-belief and following your passions in the face of life’s ups and downs is likely to score big with readers aged 8-11.

A motivational book for children who are inspired by the success of the Lionesses.

Three of the Lionesses from the recent World Cup and Euro squads (Ella Toone, Georgia Stanway and Nikita Parris) have worked with writer Cheryl Rickman to create a book aiming to inspire children to achieve whatever goals they set themselves, learn to deal with challenges that arise and promote mental and emotional wellbeing. The three players discuss openly how they got to their positions playing for the national team and emphasise that hard work, a sense of determination and support from those around you are key in taking steps to succeed. The book also features lots of personal stories and practical tips which can apply to everyday life.

Whilst the book uses the context of football to appeal to young girls, the content and key messages are suitable for all. Readers may wish to note that it does contain references to puberty and hormonal changes in girls, so I would recommend this for age 9 plus.

This book is one to read in instalments and revisit rather than read all at once in my opinion. I feel that there are a lot of important messages that may be otherwise lost as the book is quite long. As an introduction to self-help books, this is ideal given the recent success of the Lionesses. It also signposts many organisations and charities at the end of the book which readers may wish to engage with.