Sidelines is a story of how a junior sporting match and bullying can be an issue in the current community.

Of course parents want their child to be the best, but this book looks at how a parents view of what their child is and doing on the field is more important than just letting the child have fun.

I loved this book. It goes so deep into what it can be like for kids in competitive sports. Sadly it's generally the parents behaviour that ruins it for the children. This book is full of so much drama it felt like a soap opera. Jonica was my favourite parent!

This book has some strong points:
-It is a topical and interesting subject
-Family drama, without being over the top
-Realistic - the main family reminded me very strongly of a family I am close to

It fell down for me a bit because I didn't connect with any of the characters, which may have been because of my life choices -I'm CFBC and have very much noped out of this sort of life. People who work long hours and have swimming pools but no time give me the big ick. But I think that may have been part of the point. I didn't find the characters likeable, but they are just people, doing their flawed best. So, I certainly found this an interesting read, but it fell a little flat, and I'm not sure why.
Also, as usual I hated the epilogue. "Four months later" was completely unnecessary and the final chapter of the book was a rather beautiful ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a review copy of this book.

I was interested in this book as I’ve enjoyed the authors previous novels but a little worried that this was a YA book, which I’m not drawn to. Needless to say being, a soccer/referee Mum for 10 years I just couldn’t pass it up.
What a page turner. It’s also over 10 years since I’ve been in that circle but the beginnings of this behaviour was all there at the time.
Team sports what ever it may be or age, should be for health, fitness and fun. You will obviously get the driven child but not at the sake of their parents and their misgivings of missed opportunities whether they are real or not.
The synopsis of the book summed it up well. My heart went out to Audrey and maybe this book will be read by some parents who may recognise themselves. Currently extremely topical.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

An excellent story about a situation which is becoming all too frequent in this day and age.
Two girls, two families from different backgrounds with the same goal - for these girls to be the best and eventually join the big league.
It has become more prevalent in sport and other activities these days that what I call 'the ugly parent syndrome' is alive and well.
This author obviously knows all about soccer and has portrayed the story so well, I really enjoyed reading this book.

Sidelines is the fifth novel by award-winning, best-selling Australian wildlife and domestic animal veterinarian, podcaster, and author, Karen Viggers. Team sports for children: surely a pastime that promotes health, co-operation and enjoyment, whilst keeping players occupied and distracted from less savoury pursuits. Why then, does the Minotaurs’ under 14 football game in July end with a non-play injury that is serious enough to require an ambulance?

At the urging of their father, Ben, both Jonica Woodford’s thirteen-year-old twins play football (soccer), and this year, Audrey joins the November trials for Alex’s team, the Minotaurs, aiming to improve her game by playing with the boys’ team. But some of the boys are resentful, and the coaches seem blind to her obvious talent, while favouring a more aggressive girl, Katerina, whose mother makes every effort to ensure her daughter is noticed.

When one of the boys defects to a rival team, Audrey has a chance, but it seems her efforts to impress are being sabotaged. Meanwhile, the arrival of a Melbourne teen with a natural talent for the game really shows up the rest of the players. Jonica wishes that Ben, and some of the other parents would ease up a bit on their children, to let them have fun, but they seem unable to tone down their unfettered competitiveness and, ultimately, someone suffers for it.

While Viggers prefaces each chapter with a definition of a football term, by no means is it necessary to be a fan of the sport, as this story could apply equally to a myriad of competitive activities, and her characters will be familiar to any reader who has attended a children’s sporting venue.

Poor behaviour from the teens might be the product of confusing messages from their role models, pressure to fulfil a parent’s failed ambition, bullying, hunger for approval, or lack of balance between “leisure” activities.

The fact that some parents allow petty rivalries to rule their actions, or are so singularly focussed on an activity that they fail to perceive their child’s needs and feelings, is disappointing but wholly believable. And the fact that some of the teens show more maturity than their parents is no surprise. A topical and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Allen & Unwin.

Sidelines is a book that I would not always pick up because it revolves around sport. Karen Viggers has done so well to capture the fuel-filled rollercoaster of sport where competition and the chance to become elite is on the minds of everyone. The pressure that is placed on the younger children, in their very early teens, to succeed and push on is very hard to read.

The rivalry between Audrey and Alex, two twins playing football (soccer) is very slowly building, especially with Audrey is persistent as a player on the boys team. Katerina, another player pushing to be on the boys team demonstrated all the hallmarks of a sporting bully, with no remorse, and often no consequence. The pressure from the adults though is very ugly and captured so well. Audrey and Alex’s father, Ben is a driven father, trying to push his kids to live the live that he missed out on, yet demonstrated in the courtroom (a take no mercy kind of guy), and their mother, Jonica, is wrestling to become her own self again, wanting to appease everyone, and also return to the workforce as a solicitor. The power play of men and women on and off the sports fields is captured in these scenes well, and I wished they were played out a little more to really reflect 21st century struggles.
The other story line here is the discovery of how young bodies and children grow into teenagers and young adults. Lust, cliques, the impact of puberty, teenage sex and self-harm are all covered in this space. Audrey is enthralled with the new player, griffin, who has the talent to become an elite player, but what happens on the field may affect this and everything between them. The awkwardness of young love/lust is sweet, and for Audrey it is even more so emotionally charged as she is also grappling wit fitting in with friends, and even knowing what she wants from herself. If you are a player, a coach or a parent of children who are in competitive sport, or just a parent of young children in these formative years, I’d recommend this to read.
Thanks #netgalley and @allenandunwin for the #gifted e-ARC.