Netball Gems: Defend to the end by B. Hellard and L. Gibbs

Random House, 2015. ISBN 9780857987709
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. Netball Gems: Defend to the End is a story of change, resilience, developing friendships, learning skills and teaching others. Maia has recently moved from New Zealand to Australia because of her dad's job and she is not impressed. Maia has left her friends and family behind and is having trouble fitting in at her new school. Maia's mum suggests she tries out for the local netball team as netball is Maia's most favourite thing to do. While Maia is happy to play netball again, she doesn't feel she will make friends with this new group of girls. Can Maia's love for netball help her make friends? Does Maia have the skills to help her team win?
Netball Gems: Defend to the End is a great story for reminding its readers of different ways to fit in and make friends. It has a hidden theme of healthy eating and promoting sport for fitness and is supported by Netball Australia. The book includes netball tips and training drills for any avid netball fan and player to use and these tips and the story will make this appealing to any netball fan. It is highly recommended for girls aged 9+ and it is great to see so many different sports being promoted through a variety of different novels for young readers.
Kylie Kempster