Book: The Silent Striker
Author: Peter Kalu
Publisher: Hope Road Publishing
Price: £6.99
Review by Angela Howell
Marcus is 14 years old and from the local council estate. His school football coach considers him a genius, but in class he is considered a disruptive student. Marcus sees school as a waste of time and feels that his teachers, especially Miss Podborsky (who teaches geography), are out to get him.
Marcus’s home life is also stressful. His baby sister, who he has to look after when his mother (a double-glazing saleswoman) can’t, needs a lot of attention. As for his father, a part-time postman and local pub singer, he is always dreaming about achieving musical success, which is a long time coming.
His world revolves around football and his school friends, Horse, and Jamil. A career in football seems possible. The school football team has a chance of winning the championship against rivals Bowker Vale. A talent scout sees Marcus as a potential Manchester United youth player. However, all is not well among the players on the team, especially substitute player Leonard.
When Marcus has a run in with Miss Podborsky, who is also concerned about his wellbeing, he is banned from playing on the team by his head of year. Brewing in the background is his growing relationship with Adele, the sister of Bowker Vale’s star player, who has taken a liking to him.
When his team lose the championship final, his friends, instigated by Leonard, question Adele’s interest in him. Leonard, who secured Marcus’s spot on the team, is determined to discredit him for his own benefit. This leaves Marcus in a dilemma as he is forced to choose between his friends or Adele when he is faced with a diagnosis of deafness.
As Marcus struggles to deal with becoming deaf, the book takes the reader into a young adult’s world of conflicting emotions, self worth and emotional growth. The Silent Striker shows that throughout life we all need to rely on our family and friends to see us through the rough times, as well as accepting help from people in authority.
Peter Kalu has pitched this book well for young adults in secondary school between the ages of 11 to 14. It deals confidently with family, friendship, first love, racism and disability, as well as the school structure. The language is perfect for the target audience, although there were times when I questioned whether the advice offered was a little too thoughtful for the age group.
Also the characters of the coach, teacher, head of year and head teacher feel so accurate. And the young adults featured in the book could easily be any of the many students in today’s secondary schools.
The Silent Striker is a well-told coming of age book for teenagers.