My son is 10 years old and loves soccer. He received a novel for Christmas called The Academy by T.Z. Layton.

When we started reading it together, I felt like someone had plugged directly into my son’s brain and formulated the perfect book for him. The dialog among the characters sounds like my son talking soccer with his friends.

When you find a great book, it’s even better to find out that it’s the start of a whole series. We devoured book one, and quickly turned a few bookstore gift cards from Christmas into the next few entries in the series. We’ve now enjoyed books 1 through 4, with book 5 coming this week and book 6 later in May.

The book is such a hit in our house that is has changed our approach to reading and writing.

If I could bet on the further success of this book series – or any adaptations for TV or film, I would. The writing level and subject matter are perfect for a kid around 8 to 12 years old. I don’t mind it either.