FORZA!

Strikers get the glory. Somebody has to stop them.

Alessandro "Sandro" Piroli can catch anybody. What he can't do is make himself go in.

He's nine years old, the tallest kid on his Chicago team, and every time he runs down a striker, something in his chest hits the brakes. Then a scout in a long dark coat invites him to spend a summer training at one of the most famous soccer academies in the world, in Turin, Italy.

And the whole family is coming. There's Dad, chasing a dream that started with his own father's radio. There's Mom, a five-foot-two marathoner who will not let anyone, anywhere, play hungry. There's Victoria, the best athlete in the family, who would rather draw and is keeping a notebook on all of them. And there's Mario, seven, who just smuggled an entire backpack of chocolate biscuits through airport security. Where he keeps getting more is a mystery. Victoria is investigating. Sandro knows the answer, and he has sworn not to tell.

In Turin there are new words to learn, rivals who want him to crack, an old man with a trumpet, a grandfather's ticket from 1982, and a lot of yellow sticky notes. And somewhere between Turin and the lights of San Siro, Sandro has to learn the hardest lesson in defending: when to go in, and when not to.

Also inside FORZA!:

• Victoria's Notebook: hand-drawn coaching diagrams and the lesson Sandro learns, at the end of every part
• Sandro's Italian Soccer Dictionary
• The true story of the Grande Torino, one of the most legendary teams in soccer history
• Mom's Rules and Dad's Rules
• The Reset: the calm-down trick Sandro uses when a rival tries to get inside his head, which young players can use too

A warm, funny, big-hearted soccer story for readers ages 8-12 about family, courage, and the moment you finally go in all the way.

Never give up. Never let go. Forza!