However, the closest that he has come to reaching this dream is working in a factory that makes the football boots worn by his favourite player. We've been considering whether to put this into our Year 6 spine to support a topic on "Global Trade" and have made the decision that it's too good a book to miss. It will also raise an awareness of important issues such as child labour, lack of the human rights many of us take for granted in some parts of the world, and corrupt authorities. There is uproar in the factory as the foreman threatens everyone that they will suffer unless and until the thief is identified. I rooted for Budi through the entire story, hoping that he would get his big break into the footballing world but the reality is that only a tiny percentage of dreamers get that opportunity.

I won't be spoiling anything but it does get very intense and very deeply emotional (some very nasty stuff happens! It’s also an intelligent look at the shadow side of capitalism that holds the role of professional footballer (with its accompanying wealth) up as an aspiration for children around the world, despite their circumstances.It highlights the issues faced by those living in a society where most people are just about scraping enough money together to get by. At the end of the book, there is a scene which is entirely embroiled in crime and it ends in Budi surviving with his father (although his uncle sadly dies) and he ends up with millions of pounds in cash. Budi’s life is tough - he sews football boots for little pay, there is no evening meal at home on a Friday and on Wednesday he imagines that the meagre serving of rice is actually spicy rendang. He’s going to play for the greatest team on earth, rather than in the square behind the factory where he works. The community is also threatened by corruption; a local gangster, the Dragon, extorts protection money from local businesses and residents with impunity due to his familial links with the head of the police, and is reputed to have murdered his own brother.

I would definitely recommend this story as an eye-opener as well as a heart-wrenching and heart-warming tale. The last thing Budi needs is to inadvertently become involved with The Dragon – the most feared man in Jakarta. Masalah seorang pemimpi adalah terkadang dia akan mengalami mimpi buruk— kau hanya harus memastikan mimpi-mimpi buruk itu tidak pernah cukup menakut-nakutimu sehingga kau ingin terbangun dari tidur.As much as I hope Kick will shed light on a desperate global issue, I feel it must also remain a testament to the transcendent, unifying power of sport. Even with his family in poverty, surrounded by crime lords and unsettling people, he plays in the streets of Malaysia until dark.