Gracie is a soccer superstar, and she knows it. She never misses a goal and she’s on her way to get everything she’s ever wanted. The team is going to the national championships, her dream guy has started noticing her, and surely her dad will come home any day now. But for Gracie, winning is everything, even if it means never passing the ball and pissing off everyone around her. But she’s about to learn that winning isn’t everything, and it certainly won’t fix all her problems.

I first read this book in early high school and adored it. And rereading it, I easily fell back into Gracie’s world. The full-body cringing I first felt when reading Gracie’s first date came flooding back and I had to put the book down for a moment. Gracie is often an unlikeable character and very questionable in her behaviour. But she is also incredibly sweet, and I just wanted everything to work out for her.

In true Cath Crowley fashion, the book is written from multiple points of view, switching among characters, giving depth to the story. This is so much more than a book about a girl who loves soccer. It’s about relationships, of all kinds.

Revisiting The Life and Times of Gracie Faltrain has cemented my view that Crowley is truly the queen of contemporary Australian fiction. I highly recommend this book or anything else written by her.