United

Zane breathes, eats and sleeps football. As the school's best striker, he's an important part of the team. But lately, Zane's had a lot on his mind. His best mate Ola is worried about him, especially when Zane suddenly quits the team. Is Zane jealous of Ola's new girlfriend, or is something else going on?

The Two Sides series take important themes faced by many young people in today's world such as sexual identity, domestic abuse, racism and being a young carer and bring them to life through the words of a young person struggling to come to terms with them. These innovative books are written both from the main character's point of view and someone else who has made an assumption about the situation coloured by prejudice or ignorance. Appearances can be deceiving. In a judgemental world, can you see Two Sides?

This hi-lo series for struggling and reluctant readers has been written for children aged 13+, whose current reading age is 8-9. These age-appropriate short reads range from 32 to 42 pages and are written by gifted authors writing stories with relatable characters. They incorporate a large font size and text separated into bite-sized chunks, along with carefully considered letter and paragraph spacing that can reduce visual stress. The series has plenty of practice at one level, allowing consolidation of learning before moving on to more challenging reads.