Leopard Spots 2. The Lilydale Leopards Leopard Tails

This is the second book in The Lilydale Leopard's series. It continues the story of the Lilydale Leopards as they journey on from the events in the 1st book, Leopard Skin Cover (a must read too) and towards the AFL for the players. Graeme does a masterful job of weaving human drama and human relationships using a large cast of characters. Young, old, football players and not, Graeme uses them all. The sports scenes and real-life events are well written and presented well in the story. I'm not a sports fan at all, but Graeme kept me engaged even through those scenes. . I laughed, I cried, even yelled a few times, be it the 1st time i read it or the fourth. I'm sure i will the next time i read it too. 

Leopard Spots is the continuation of Leopardskin Cover, which really must be read first.  The first novel focused on the team and the club, which is rebuilding after a difficult year, dealing with money problems, and coping with the revelation that one of their teammates is gay.  This story broadens the focus, and we begin to see the effects that the example of an openly gay athlete can have on the culture at large, quite apart from and in addition to the team's general impact on the surrounding community.

In the first volume, it is the club treasurer who articulates the idea that the Leopards are not just a team, they are a family.  In this volume, everyone, club staff, players, and even supporters, grows into the implications of this insight.  This second volume continues the exploration of the differences between blood family and chosen family, as the players take responsibility for a young man who fears for his life if his parents were to learn he is gay.  The extended Leopards family learns how to work as a team, even as the players learn how to become a family.

We also continue to learn about the workings of the VFL, and what it takes to move up from there into the AFL.  Since the Leopards are a non-affiliated team, aspirants have to work hard to attract the attention of AFL scouts, and we learn something of how that process looks from the professional teams' side, as well as from the aspiring players' side.

Fans of the first volume will see how their favorite characters continue to grow and develop to meet the challenges thrown their way.  So many themes enter into the story that one might expect the narrative to lose focus, but as he did in the first volume, the author continues to deftly weave the threads into a coherent whole.  But now the team enters the regular season, and the pressure to make it to the finals begins in earnest.  The Leopards have begun to pull together, but can they lift one another up enough to make it to the championship?  If you thought the first volume was exciting, well . . . !