Reviewed by Mick

Mick is a six year old Australian boy ready to take his first rites - going to his first game of Australian rules football, or the "footy". A sea of colour and excitement washes over him as he is initiated into a game that resembles tribal warfare.

Our author duly points out the audience for this story is young children. The subject matter is apt, most Australian children are initiated into the football ritual early and love most things relating to the "footy".

There are many strong points in this story. The colour is vibrant and well described and the tension of the game comes through powerfully. Cassandra manages to capture a very Australian moment here, a scene that most Australians are familiar with. Even as an adult you can read this story and enjoy it, remembering early times at the football where everything seemed larger than life.

There are some areas that Cassandra could consider when writing a children's story, a task that is very difficult to accomplish. I know that Cassandra (aka Sonia) is a stickler for getting the technicalities spot on. Two points I picked up; the line "Mick sleep the slumber…" where "slept" would have been the better choice and we also get "cos" without it being a quote from one the characters, not consistent with the language used in the story.

The structure of the story left me a little concerned. I felt with a story for a young child it really needs to be attention grabbing. Introduce some dialogue and break up the paragraphs a little, disrupt the rhythm. If you're going to call an umpire a white maggot, then ditch the monotone and get Uncle Stu screaming "White Maggot!!"

Cassandra, also take into consideration all Aussies know our children don't wait until six years of age to get to the footy - we blood them much earlier than that! A footy family that is devoted enough to get Mick a plaque at the club and go and watch a whole reserves game would probably have their child at game before the first birthday! Consider also the limitations of telling a story that is so very localised. First up, only children who are Australian could be expected to get into this story. And even then, only those children who come from "footy families" (not all Aussies like footy). And then you have another problem… supporters of any other team may not like this story because they want their own team to win. So your story is probably limited to Australian children who like football and just happen to barrack for Richmond.

I remember this game. My team lost to Richmond that day. I'd say writing a story like this is a good idea. Immortalise the moment because it won't happen again! (well hey I had to get emotional at some point - this is tribal warfare after all!)

A good read. Here is a window on an Australian ritual.