Maya is an 11-year-old Indian girl living in Malaysia who loves soccer with her whole heart, even though she's never kicked a ball in real life. Her parents are always fighting, and she and her brother feel out of place because her mom is Indian and her dad is white. She is determined to form a girls' soccer team, even though it is called a boy's sport, and live out her dreams.

USBBY Outstanding International Books, 2018. JLG Selection, 2017. Freeman Book Awards Honor, 2017.

Author grew up in Malaysia and writes books for adults and children.

English. Originally published in New South Wales/ Singapore by Allen & Unwin/ Sunbear Publishing in 2009. Published in the United States by Clarion/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2017.

Goal-oriented Maya has two main concerns: getting support and permission for girls' soccer and keeping her unpredictable biracial family together. At the same time she's trying to fit in at school, figure out who her true friends are, and dodge the criticisms of her traditional East Indian grandmother and the other relatives who say girls should be quiet and obedient. Maya's witty, observant first-person narrative will make readers want her on their team, and they'll cheer her on as she discovers that winning is great—but losing doesn't mean defeat.