Soccer Dreams: My True Adventure Following the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, as a Fan and 12-Year Old Junior Reporter for the St. Petersburg ... History-Making 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup!
by Leah Lauber

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Book Reviews of Soccer Dreams: My True Adventure Following the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, as a Fan and 12-Year Old Junior Reporter for the St. Petersburg ... History-Making 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup!

Book Review: An impressive and inspirational account of a dream come true
Summary: 5 Stars

It is important to note that you do not need to be a soccer fan in order to enjoy this book. I'm no soccer enthusiast by any means, but I enjoyed this book tremendously. Soccer Dreams is a personal story of making one's dreams come true through hard work, dedication, and just a little bit of luck. As such, it is an inspirational story that truly captivated me, and I found myself smiling much more than usual as I read Leah Lauber's account of how she made her own dreams come true. Lauber is a talented young writer, and the sense of her own excitement and exuberant awe really leaps off the page at you.

This book is really a marvel to behold. This is most remarkable given the fact that Soccer Dreams is in many ways a family project. Unable to interest a commercial publisher in such a book from a twelve-year-old author, virtually the entire Lauber family came together to make this book yet another dream come true for this extraordinary young lady. The story and many of its accompanying photographs are Leah's, but her father, a professional photographer, supplied more than two hundred impressive photographs of his own. Page after page is filled with wonderful color photographs of women's soccer action, practice, and fan interaction alongside several great shots from the family's personal scrapbook. This includes photos of the celebration over Mia Hamm's record-breaking 108th career goal and of the 1999 Women's World Cup championship game. Even with all of the amazing photographs included here, though, the narrative by no means takes second place.

Lauber tells her story in a chronological fashion, beginning with the story of her own love for soccer as well as writing, then going on to describe just how this dream of hers became a reality. She details her year as an X-Team reporter for the St. Petersburg Times and explains how this allowed her access to the national team then practicing in Florida, but this is just the beginning of her story. Her X-Team media pass could get her into media-only events in Florida, but it took another impressive effort to win her a trip to the 1999 Women's World Cup championship match in Pasadena, California. Her personal story is then augmented by an extended section of one-on-one interviews and quotes from almost every member of the team at a variety of venues and events over the course of the year. There are pictures of Leah interviewing the mega-stars of the sport, high-fiving Mia Hamm after her record-breaking goal, and generally reveling in the adventure of a lifetime.

I believe Leah Lauber has accomplished some important goals in the writing of this book. She has demonstrated how any individual, even a youngster, can make his/her dreams come true, and she has also helped further the cause of women's soccer and women's sports in general. I went to UNC-Chapel Hill, so I know a tiny bit about women's soccer; thanks to Miss Lauber, I now know much more about the sport and can better appreciate the attributes and raw excitement of it from a fan's perspective. Lauber makes you want to experience this sport for yourself, and I know this book would provide a tremendous incentive for young girls to learn and play the game themselves. A sport needs true heroes, and Lauber has truly shown the women of the U.S. National Team to be heroes in every sense of the word. Perhaps the biggest hero in these pages, however, is young Leah Lauber herself; this talented young author is living proof that you can indeed make your dreams come true.

Summary of Soccer Dreams: My True Adventure Following the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, as a Fan and 12-Year Old Junior Reporter for the St. Petersburg ... History-Making 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup!

The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team proved that dreams DO come true, IF you love what you do, AND you work really hard at it! My unlikely-but-true story following the Team further proves that dreams come true . . .

The 1999 Women's World Cup is widely regarded as a milestone in women's sports and "Soccer Dreams" takes the reader on a journey any sports fan could only dream about - not only meeting her heroes at their finest moment, but interviewing them for one of the country's best newspapers. Leah's incredible adventure takes the reader to games, training sessions, into the locker room and under the press tent after the ultimate victory over China.

Illustrated with more than 200 color photos throughout the book, "Soccer Dreams" will inspire readers of all ages to follow their own dreams, using not only the example of the National Team, but in a much smaller way, Leah's story as she overcomes setbacks and obstacles to witness sports history.

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