Set in both Milan and Sydney, Lucy Zeezou’s Goal introduces 14-year-old Lucia (or ‘Lucy’) Zoffi, the football-mad but modelling-bound daughter of a world-renowned Italian footballer. Banned from playing football (soccer) by her glamorous parents who don’t think that girls and football mix, Lucy is forced to lie about skipping dance classes in order to play. Nicknamed ‘Zeezou’ after her hero, Zinedine ‘Zizou’ Zidane (while spelled differently it’s pronounced the same), she dreams both of playing professionally and of earning her parents’ approval. Written by accomplished journalist, presenter and first-time author Liz Deep-Jones, this Bend It Like Beckham- style novel is aimed at girls aged between 10 and 14 and challenges the perception that girls must be interested only in superficial pursuits. Encouragingly, Lucy Zeezou’s Goal combines fashion and football to inspire girls to realise their dreams, regardless of which field they’re in. Tapping into football’s growing popularity in Australia, this quickpaced, engaging novel will appeal to an emerging demographic of sports-oriented readers. And while the focus is football, the novel’s key messages of daring to dream, persistence, overcoming stereotypes, and friendship will appeal to a larger readership.

Fiona Crawford is a Brisbane-based writer and avid football player and fan

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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