Penalty Kick

I am always in the market for more sports books. Certainly the title and cover art drew me to this title at NetGalley. Penalty Kick did not disappoint as a sports book and offered so much more.

Honestly, when it opened in an oncologist's office, I thought, "Not another cancer book..." Initially, I think, because I was expecting something different. Then I realized the surge in popularity of such books would make this a popular title. Anyhow, I kept reading and learned that Brooke was recovering from an intense fight with cancer.  Her experiences allowed her to feel an overwhelming compassion for Josh who was fighting is own life and death battle. An amazing soccer player, he is driving on his learner's permit and is involved in a horrifying accident that takes his mom's life. He is nearly unable to go on. This is a beautiful story of friendship and recovery, of family, loss, and love. Through counseling, friendship, love, and soccer Josh fights his way back and challenging Brooke to grow along the way.

I'm pleased that this book will appeal to the guys and girls in my library. Both Brooke and Josh are full realized characters whose strengths and flaws will make them relatable. The book is realistic and intense without being overwhelming for students simply looking for a solid read. The love story develops slowly and in a lovely way, suitable for the younger readers in my 7-12 library. The sports scenes are action packed and suspenseful. I look forward to adding this to my collection soon. 

Net Galley provided me with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for this review.

Penalty Kick is a story about two young teens forced by the harsh realities of life into the adult world too quickly.  One teen has faced a battle with cancer that has left her changed for life.  The second teen has had to face the aftermath of a car accident that killed his mother while he was driving.  Both of these people's world changed in an instant.  This book is a wonderfully written, heartfelt story that shows us just how fragile life can be and how we must always live every moment to the fullest and make the most of the time we have with our loved ones.  It also shows us how having someone special in our lives can help us to be resilient and bounce back from even the most horrifying of circumstances.  While we never fully recover from some things that happen in our lives, we can carry those things with us and strive to make the most of what we have left.

Penalty Kick is an inspirational young adult novel about healing, recovery from trauma that manages to address heavy topics eloquently. What can easily provide melodrama and angst is executed in a sophisticated way, where reality isn’t dismissed —the majority of the book relies on a key theme of hopelessness, endless pain and brutality— but acceptance is encouraged, nurtured and becomes a primary aspect of this emotional novel. 

Two teenagers set apart from their early experiences of trauma and forced maturity unite together. It’s a rather simple plot, but its delicate execution and an acute understanding of survivor’s guilt, anxieties and heart-wrenching regret causes the rather basic plot to be exceptionally addressed. Brooke and Josh are typical teenagers with atypical experiences, whom the reader immediately identifies with; the surrounding characters also manage to be three-dimensional, full of depth, with different responses to the same event. This leads to a greater exploration of trauma and the range of aftereffects. The blossoming romance between the main leads was unexpected –I didn’t realise it was a romance from the blurb alone—but endearing and supportive relationship was a large step towards their healing. I identified most with optimistic, grateful Brooke, who took pleasure by simply being alive –and through her own efforts, encouraged others to live. Her kindness moved and inspired me, in the same way I’m sure it inspired Josh. 

It’s difficult to describe Penalty Kick in terms of plot, but it is one of the most psychologically moving pieces I’ve read in a long time. Rarely do I learn something significantly important from Young Adult fiction, but I learnt about: love, healing, emotions, and a raw (sometimes brutally honest) perspective of grieving, that still manages to provide great speculation. Long after finishing the book, I still reflected upon it; and also, myself.

Two teenagers set apart from their early experiences of trauma and forced maturity unite together. It’s a rather simple plot, but its delicate execution and an acute understanding of survivor’s guilt, anxieties and heart-wrenching regret causes the rather basic plot to be exceptionally addressed. Brooke and Josh are typical teenagers with atypical experiences, whom the reader immediately identifies with; the surrounding characters also manage to be three-dimensional, full of depth, with different responses to the same event. This leads to a greater exploration of trauma and the range of aftereffects. The blossoming romance between the main leads was unexpected –I didn’t realise it was a romance from the blurb alone—but endearing and supportive relationship was a large step towards their healing. I identified most with optimistic, grateful Brooke, who took pleasure by simply being alive –and through her own efforts, encouraged others to live. Her kindness moved and inspired me, in the same way I’m sure it inspired Josh. 

It’s difficult to describe Penalty Kick in terms of plot, but it is one of the most psychologically moving pieces I’ve read in a long time. Rarely do I learn something significantly important from Young Adult fiction, but I learnt about: love, healing, emotions, and a raw (sometimes brutally honest) perspective of grieving, that still manages to provide great speculation. Long after finishing the book, I still reflected upon it; and also, myself.

Penalty kick by Terence O’Leary   Swan Creek Press, 2014      Brook is a cancer survivor and even though she now has a clean bill of health, she knows her cancer could always come back. Her physical scars are a reminder of what she’s been through. Josh, a high school soccer star at her school has to deal with the guilt of killing his mother in a car crash on the way home from a soccer game, when he was blinded by the sun pulling out onto the road and didn’t see the other car coming that hit the passenger’s side.
	These two find each other and form an unlikely relationship – the popular jock and the “invisible” girl. When Brooke introduces him to her counselor, Josh starts making progress, but he still has trouble trying to connect with his dad. A very good high school story about healing and forgiveness.

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. And that did not affect my opinions in any way because I cried after two minutes into the book.

This book is about two different person. Brooke has always lived her life in fear. Cancer has always been a part of her, and having to go through hair loss and losing her knee made her stronger than before. But when she finally defeated cancer, she gets to live life again. Until she met Josh. Josh has everything he wanted, until the day his mom died in the car accident, in a car that he was driving. Suddenly feeling guilty and sad and angry, it seemed like he could not go on with life. But then, Brooke came along and helped him.

This book has so many feels that my heart broke so many times. But you know, I love Brooke. She's not really the main character in the book, but I think she played an important role. She was the one who changed Josh, who saved him actually. She was strong, so strong. And she never gave up on him, even when it seemed that he couldn't let go of the guilt. Though, I do admit, I so love the book because it was mainly about soccer. I mean, seriously, the details describing each soccer match is like WOAH. But yeah, read this book at your own risk. It made me bawl my eyes out, and I'm sure it will make yours too :')

This was a good story  although  it did seem to drag a little. What the characters  go though  is heartbreaking, tale of two broken people finding  each other to help them heal. .  Even though it was a good story for me it could of ended better, as it is there could of been a little bit more to end the story.

I absolutely positively LOVE this book! Brilliantly written, and characters struck by disasters that occur in everyday life far more than we expect. Love, loss, Penalty Kick has it all. I highly recommend this book.

This was well written, and I do think both females and males will enjoy it. Very sad at times, and hard to get through (especially Alan's feelings towards Josh etc)., but it was well done and realistic

Given To Me For An Honest Review

Penalty Kick by Terence O'Leary is a book that you will need to have some tissue nearby. You will be using some while reading this book. Once you open the book you will have a hard time putting it down and before you know it the pages stop turning when you get to the last page. Josh is a great soccer player. He has everything until the day ...... Brooke has always lived in fear. Losing her hair but now she has her life back ...... not now. This is about friendship, determination, understanding and acceptance so that what has happened can finally be understood and accepted. I recommend this book to everyone. I look for more from Terence O'leary.

great story about loss and the power of forgiveness written with the teenager in mind.