In this sequel to Murphy and Mousetrap, Murphy and his three friends, Danny, Jeff and Albert, are making the transition from the tribal elementary school to the community middle school.
They are all trying out for the middle school's soccer team, and they're pretty confident that The Formidable Four will all make the team. But once the tryouts begin, Albert, the tribal-school superstar, plays like a second-stringer. Murphy's new friend, Molly, is determined to help the boys find out what's wrong with Albert, but when they discover the truth, they realize that Albert is playing a whole different game.
Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Award | 2011 | Nominated
Resource Links, The Year's Best Books | 2010 | Commended
CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens | 2011 | Commended
"Part of the terrific Orca Young Readers collection, A Different Game is the story of four boys who strive to make their school's soccer team only to discover that sometimes you get call[ed] up to play in a bigger game, and that life, like soccer, is better when it's a team effort...A solid, well-crafted story with strong, likable characters that will appeal to readers from Grade 3 up."