Ten Thousand Tries

Amy Makechnie

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781534482302
• eBook ISBN: 9781534482319

A middle school soccer whiz’s determination to keep things from changing is tested when his father’s ALS symptoms worsen in this “heart-tugging and uplifting” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) story about growing up and facing loss, perfect for fans of Shouting at the Rain.

Twelve-year-old Golden Maroni is determined to channel his hero, soccer superstar Lionel Messi, and become captain of his soccer team and master of his eighth grade universe…especially since his home universe is spiraling out of orbit. Off the field, Golden’s dad, once a pro soccer player himself, is now battling ALS, a disease that attacks his muscles, leaving him less and less physically able to control his body every day. And while Mom says there’s no cure, Golden is convinced that his dad can beat this, just like any opponent, they just have to try.

Golden knows that if you want to perfect a skill you have to put ten thousand tries in, so he’s convinced if he can put that much effort in, on and off the field, he can stop everything from changing. But when his dad continues to decline and his constant pushing starts to alienate his friends and team, Golden is forced to confront the idea that being master of your universe might not mean being in control of everything. What if it means letting go of the things you can’t control so you can do the most good for the things you can?

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• 1. The Back-to-School Physical
• 2. The Wicked Cool Armbands
• 3. The Day I Don’t Let Benny in the House
• 4. It Happened Like This
• 5. Ninja Tongue-Twister Champ of the Three Worst Words
• 6. When the Season Really Begins: Hell Week
• 7. I Share a Room with My Sister
• 8. Roma Tries to Poison Me on the First Day of School
• 9. The Second-Worst News of My Life
• 10. Ten Thousand Touches
• 11. A Hero Will Rise
• 12. I’m Your Captain Now
• 13. Lucy and I Make a Plan
• 14. A Haircut That Tries to Ruin My Life
• 15. The Night I Make My Dad Fly
• 16. Squirrel Hair and Other Tasks a Mini-Messi Shouldn’t Have to Do
• 17. Game Day
• 18. The Day She Actually Crashes the Big White Whale
• 19. The Day I Meet Sugar Ray—and Start a War
• 20. Work Harder
• 21. I Tell a Lie for the Good of All
• 22. The Fight
• 23. Benched with Slick
• 24. Psyched
• 25. Bitter and Sweet
• 26. A Great Big Crack
• 27. The Day I Big-Time Break Middle School Boy Rule #1
• 28. The World Is Short on Finishers
• 29. Gag Me Almost Kills Me with a Bread Knife (Worth It.)
• 30. The Best Things Come in Threes
• 31. The Covered Bridge
• 32. Head Up, Wings Out
• 33. The Golden Goal
• 34. Paper Plate Awards
• Epilogue: The Dream Team
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Copyright