On the Wing

An inspiring book about resilience on and off the field for 8 to 12-year-old soccer fans Eleven-year-old migrant Adi has settled nicely into her new life in Australia. She loves school and cherishes her friendships with other migrant kids. Playing soccer for the Seaside Rosellas on Sundays fuels her dream of becoming a women's soccer star one day. In Adi's mind, life could not be better. But now, this life has been turned upside down-again. Her mother has found a fancy private school that offers Adi a scholarship for Year Seven. Adi is devastated. She does not want to leave her friends behind. From day one at the new school, she is relentlessly bullied because she looks different and speaks with an accent. Finding new friends seems to depend on meeting certain standards, which Adi finds hard to figure out, let alone meet. Her resentment grows, but so does her awareness that she has her own prejudices. Will her desperate effort to join the school's athletics team and the nebulous girls' soccer team lead to acceptance and respect, or will she become a total outcast?

This book tells the story of a migrant girl's journey and resilience in a world of cultural differences and expectations where prejudices flourish on all sides. Overcoming her challenges and her own prejudices helps her grow in strength and self-esteem.