GENRE: Fiction, realistic fiction. Serving Young Teens and 'Tweens (2007) sorted this title under "Books about Focus and Direction." 
 SUMMARY: Paul Fisher is legally blind, though he doesn't let that stop him from playing soccer, any way he can. Paul, 12, struggles to come out from his football-star brother's shadow, while his parents find their own niche after moving to a new community in Tangerine County, Florida. 
 EVALUATION: This book succeeds on many levels. The main character doesn't shy away from the teasing his handicap garners. The only person Paul really is afraid of is his brother, and in the end he stands up to him. Paul grows as a person over the course of the book. The writing is fast-paced, with the story being told in a journal format that spans only four months. It did not take long before I found myself connecting with Paul, and I am a far cry from a 12-year-old goalie with physical, familial and friendship difficulties. The characters are well-formed and believable, and the story is not concerned with wrapping up the loose ends with a proverbial "happy ending." The ending has some bright spots, though things are not sugar-coated. 
 WHY I WOULD INCLUDE IT: Although the book was originally written in 1950, the same issues that troubled Paul remain difficult situations for a number of tweens today. I could easily envision intense soccer rivalries against high schools that are close in physical location, yet vary quite a bit in the racial makeup of the students. Despite getting into trouble at school, he is a positive role model for kids with difficult older siblings, physical handicaps, and those that experience the trials of moving and attending a new school (or two). Tangerine contains a lot of substance, and could open up a number of discussions between the tween reader and their parents. 
 READER'S ANNOTATION: Nearly blind Paul Fisher endures his cruel older brother, his family's move to Florida, and adjusting to first one new school, and then another. 
 ITEMS WITH SIMILAR APPEAL: 
 *	The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci. 
 *	Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. 
 *	Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. 
 *	Heat by Mike Lupica.