Sidelines is the fifth novel by award-winning, best-selling Australian wildlife and domestic animal veterinarian, podcaster, and author, Karen Viggers. Team sports for children: surely a pastime that promotes health, co-operation and enjoyment, whilst keeping players occupied and distracted from less savoury pursuits. Why then, does the Minotaurs’ under 14 football game in July end with a non-play injury that is serious enough to require an ambulance?

At the urging of their father, Ben, both Jonica Woodford’s thirteen-year-old twins play football (soccer), and this year, Audrey joins the November trials for Alex’s team, the Minotaurs, aiming to improve her game by playing with the boys’ team. But some of the boys are resentful, and the coaches seem blind to her obvious talent, while favouring a more aggressive girl, Katerina, whose mother makes every effort to ensure her daughter is noticed.

When one of the boys defects to a rival team, Audrey has a chance, but it seems her efforts to impress are being sabotaged. Meanwhile, the arrival of a Melbourne teen with a natural talent for the game really shows up the rest of the players. Jonica wishes that Ben, and some of the other parents would ease up a bit on their children, to let them have fun, but they seem unable to tone down their unfettered competitiveness and, ultimately, someone suffers for it.

While Viggers prefaces each chapter with a definition of a football term, by no means is it necessary to be a fan of the sport, as this story could apply equally to a myriad of competitive activities, and her characters will be familiar to any reader who has attended a children’s sporting venue.

Poor behaviour from the teens might be the product of confusing messages from their role models, pressure to fulfil a parent’s failed ambition, bullying, hunger for approval, or lack of balance between “leisure” activities.

The fact that some parents allow petty rivalries to rule their actions, or are so singularly focussed on an activity that they fail to perceive their child’s needs and feelings, is disappointing but wholly believable. And the fact that some of the teens show more maturity than their parents is no surprise. A topical and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Allen & Unwin.