The Transfer

Written by a football fanatic for football fanatics, this comic fantasy really hits the target. Stanley Peterson, a Year 6 football nut, suffers as his beloved City stare relegation in the face. Needing to win their last two matches against Spurs and the championship chasing Liverpool, City's cause looks hopeless. As luck would have it, Stanley's mum is a computer scientist who is developing 'cybertelekinesis', a program which converts neurological impulses into movement. Willpower and computer power are combined to make desire become a reality. Secretly accessing the computer program one night, Stanley creates Lazlo, a genius striker with the combined talents of all the world's great players. His desire for City to stay in the Premiership is so great that by a risky process of mental and electronic energy and by twisting a magic red stud on his boot, Stanley actually becomes Lazlo and gets into the City team, making an astonishing debut and becoming an instant hero. When the magic stud breaks off the dream turns to nightmare as eleven-year-Stanley is trapped in the adult body of Lazlo. If that was not enough, his football mad teacher Miss Tysoe has a crush on him! (shades of Tom Hanks in the film Big here). Eventually Stanley returns to his own body, bringing his estranged parents back together again, and scores the winning goal in the local district primary schools cup final. Blacker has written a book that will get reluctant but reasonably able readers into reading. Short chapters and a humorous, action packed plot will sustain the interest. The lack of illustration may be a disappointment to some readers but the high quality writing more than compensates for this. Blacker will be a huge hit with Upper Junior children as Nick Hornby has been with adults with Fever Pitch.