Going for the Record [Paperback]

Julie A. Swanson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2004

Seventeen-year-old Leah Weiczynkowski, about to begin her senior year of high school, is on the brink of realizing her dream --playing soccer for the under-eighteen national tem, her gateway to the World Cup and the Olympics. Everything shes worked for in her life has been about this moment. She cant wait to tell her dad; her biggest fan and her faithful chauffeur to games and practices. Unfortunately, her dad, Pete Weiczynkowski, had news of his own. Cancer. Pancreatic cancer. When Leah hears her fathers news, the wind is knocked out of her and a coldness seeps through her -- disbelief, sadness, anger. Not her Pops! Why her Pops? Why now? And what is she supposed to do? Now, when she has a real shot at her goal? Now, when her father is dying? Going for the Record addresses Leahs struggle with her passion for her sport, her love for her father, and her growing recognition of her fathers faith and bravery. Loosely based on the authors own experience of her father dying of cancer, Going for the Record is a coming-of-age story on a number of levels, as Leah must question everything thats mattered most to her and how she will define herself in the future.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Leah Weiczynkowski is a promising soccer player with Olympic aspirations. The summer before senior year, she learns that her beloved father has pancreatic cancer and only three months to live. Called "obsessed with soccer" by her mom, Leah isn't interested in parties, shopping, or hanging out with friends, and she regards Clay, an attentive male classmate, as a soccer trainer, not a boyfriend. She practices her sport intently and awaits phone calls from college coaches eager to recruit her. As her dad's illness progresses, the teen begins to feel selfish and guilty when family needs threaten to interrupt her schedule. Her first-person narrative conveys emotional vulnerability and growing self-reflection. Part of an extended Catholic family, Leah is comforted by her grandmother, who talks about the power of prayer. Her father's inexorable decline, including the arrival of hospice workers and a hospital bed in the sunroom, is portrayed with realism and pathos. With his death, Leah comes to recognize that soccer is just a game, that her relationship with Clay is important, and that what really matters is to make a difference in the world. This powerful novel leaves the outcome undefined, but there is no doubt that Leah has grown inestimably in her understanding of the value of relationships, in her ability to accept and grieve her father's death, and in her resolve to move ahead with living. A first-rate debut.–Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. It's going to be the perfect senior year. Leah has made the regional Olympic Development Team and is a sure recruit for the best women's college soccer programs in the country. Then she learns that her ever-present, always-upbeat father has pancreatic cancer and only a few months to live. Soccer, friends, school, and even the college coaches' calls gradually cease to be important; her family's tight circle of love and care endure. Swanson paints a compassionate and authentic portrait of a teen facing a parent's death without sugarcoating the painful dying process or a family's struggle to cope. From the initial denial, through the anger at a life and routine disrupted, to the strength and support of a loving family in crisis, each chapter, each character rings true. Without being sensational or maudlin, Swanson's novel is real: it's deeply sad and often painful to read, but ultimately hopeful and uplifting. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (February 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802852734
• ISBN-13: 978-0802852731
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #948,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A triumph of the spirit, March 2, 2004

By 

Peggy Tibbetts (Silt, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Going for the Record (Paperback)

Friday, June 20 is the best and worst day of Leah Weiczynkowski's life. Having just made the Regional Olympic Development Program's soccer team the summer before her senior year, she is on top of the world. Soccer is not only her life, it's the map to her future. But it all comes crashing down when her dad arrives late to pick her up from development camp and tells her the bad news -- he has pancreatic cancer. He has three months to live. He's dying.

Up to that point in her seventeen years, their family life has always revolved around Leah and her incredible athletic talent and drive to be the world's best women's soccer player in the world. Her dad has always been her biggest supporter, chauffeuring her to practices, games, and camps. But that summer it all changes. By necessity the family focuses on Dad, helping him cope and finding a way to cope with the cancer that brutally takes over their lives. And to further complicate her life, he wants to die at home. At first Leah feels angry and confused. How could this happen when her goals of a college scholarship and the Olympics are just coming together for her? She figures no matter what happens, she's going to need a miracle to get through this one.

When Leah's student coach Clay, out of genuine concern, gets a little too close, she pushes him away. As her dad's condition deteriorates, Leah gradually pushes everyone and everything away, including soccer. Her discipline and determination to be the best fades. Which is a blessing in a way because, as she soon realizes, dying has a way of taking the life out of, well -- life. She is consumed by helping her mother care for her father as he grows weaker. Yet as she learns about cancer and hospice care, and spends precious hours with her dad reading to him and playing cards, she discovers his faith and courage. Even though she loses her self in the process of her dad's death, she reaches down deep and finds her own soul.

While Leah's story is a real kick-in-the-guts and Swanson pulls no punches in the gritty telling, at the same time she offers readers a guide for coping with the suffering and the hope of life after death. This is a beautiful saga of love, loss, and the triumph of the spirit. Warning: you'll need a box of kleenex handy to get through this one!

Copyright (c) 2004 by Peggy Tibbetts

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read - Life changing,, January 23, 2012

By 

Angie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going for the Record (Paperback)

I originally checked this book out a year or two ago at my local library in a rush to leave. Normally I would see the cover of a book like this and think it would be boring since it was "Obviously about Soccer"(Not a favorite or remotely interesting topic of mine) But I could not have been more wrong. This book really brings you in and causes extreme emotion and realness of the story. You feel for the character and what is happening, its very powerful and just an amazing read. I can honestly tell you I broke out in tears throughout half of this book but my overall experience was very positive. After reading this novel My view on what was important to me and how I looked at things totally changed. I recommend this book to anyone. 5+ one of my all time favorites(:

Angie

4.0 out of 5 stars Going for the Record, July 19, 2008

By 

Book Bear - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going for the Record (Paperback)

Going for the Record is a book about a really driven high school girl to become an amazing soccer player. There is a twist in the road when something bad hits close to home and stops her dream, the question is will she ever love soccer again after this eye-opening experience she sees her life long dream in a different light. I think this is a really good book and recommend it to any young adult reader.