All to Play For
Home > Children's Books > Children’s / Teenage fiction and true stories > Sporting stories > All to Play For
All to Play For

All to Play For


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



Out of Stock


Notify me when this book is in stock
X
About the Book

'Who are we?' 'Ballymarra! Ballymarra!' everyone shouted loudly. Thirteen-year-old Anna loves Gaelic football, and she's good: focused, skilled and strong. But then everything changes; after a terrible loss, Anna and her family move to a new town.  How will she cope with a new home, new school and new GAA club? It seems like even football can't give her comfort, maybe some help from an unexpected place is just what she needs...... Football, friendship & family forever

About the Author :
DONN McCLEAN is a sports writer, specialising in horse racing. He has written for many publications, and is currently the main features writer on horse racing for The Sunday Times in Ireland and The Irish Field. He is also the author of four racing biographies and is a regular analyst on TV and radio. He lives in Wicklow with his wife and four daughters and coaches underage soccer teams. This is his first book for younger readers.

Review :
uplifting a resounding thumbs up from our 8yo boy … about an ordinary club footballer just like him, except she’s a girl. Great work by Donn McClean a moving and heartfelt story Growing up is never easy! It’s not any easier when you move to a new town and school. Anna must deal with this anxiety, as well as cope with the loss of her father. Anna and her father loved Gaelic football and her game falters without his support. All to Play For by Donn McClean tells the story of how Anna struggles with the grief of her loss, while she tries to help her new team win the county final. A moving and heartfelt story. Football is everything to Anna and, like many keen sportspeople, she has a special talisman to bring her luck In her case, it’s a pair of bright orange football socks, which she believes guarantee her good fortune when she wears them in a match. The socks, as it turns out, are far more than a lucky-charm fashion item to Anna, while Donn McClean’s novel for early teens is far more substantial than your average story of sporting trials and triumphs. Such tales are legion: They tell of team-building, camaraderie, and injury scares; the agonisingly narrow defeat to the arch rivals, and the blow-by-blow match report of the final, inevitably won by the underdogs against all odds. McClean, a sports-writer specialising in horse-racing and an analyst on TV and radio, mixes many of these familiar ingredients to good effect and this is, indeed, a story of sporting triumph over adversity, though not in the conventional sense. Though the action on the pitch is gritty and physical, the real driving force at the heart of the novel is a compelling story of grief and acceptance…McClean is able to explore weighty themes including bullying and the many stages of grief, as well as the complex feelings surrounding new relationships formed by bereaved parents. What’s refreshingly different about this novel is the visceral physicality of the emotions displayed by its strong female characters, the punches and tackles on the football field flowing as readily as the rivers of tears Anna sheds along the way A 13-year-old girl’s story of loss and life, shot through her experiences with her new football team. It is poignant in places, inspirational in others and a reminder that life is never straightforward A moving novel about a girl who loves Gaelic football The protagonist is a teenage girl, something of a first for Irish sports fiction. The story of how Anna navigates a family tragedy, a new town, new school, and new ladies football team makes for a gripping and sometimes poignant narrative perfect for the summer holidays


Best Sellers


Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781788492041
  • Publisher: O'Brien Press Ltd
  • Publisher Imprint: O'Brien Press Ltd
  • Height: 196 mm
  • No of Pages: 336
  • ISBN-10: 1788492048
  • Publisher Date: 03 Aug 2020
  • Binding: Digital download
  • Language: English
  • Width: 130 mm


Similar Products

Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
All to Play For
O'Brien Press Ltd -
All to Play For
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

All to Play For

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept

    New Arrivals


    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!