Five questions for Priscilla Mante, author of the Dream Team series of books

What is your elevator pitch for Charligh Green vs the Spotlight? 

This second book in the Dream Team series follows Charligh, lover of cats, big hair and musicals who adores being centre of attention and dreams of performing in the West End. She is delighted when she finally bags the lead role in her school production, a musical retelling of Anne of Green Gables. Charligh hits all the right notes in the songs, but the only problem is no matter how much she tries learning her lines seems to be an impossible task. When she gains a better understanding of how she processes information, she is soon able to find ways to overcome the barriers to memorising her lines and proudly step into the spotlight shining like the star she is. 

What is the inspiration behind the book? 

It was partially inspired by my absolute love of theatre! I really enjoyed writing the lines and lyrics for the school production scenes and mentioning some real-life plays through the friendship with her elderly mentor ‘Not-Granny’. It’s been estimated that at least  one in three actors are neurodivergent  so I wanted to explore the challenges and creativity involved in someone like Charligh attempting to memorise their lines at the same pace as their classmates, and move around the stage confidently.  

This is the second instalment in the Dream Team series. How did you strike the balance between continuing the story you started in Jaz Santos vs The World and making this book work as a standalone narrative?  

At it’s heart the Dream Team series is about friendship, football and following your dreams. It kicked off with Jaz Santos who set off in hot pursuit of her football dreams while facing challenges such self-doubt, family upheaval and sexist attitudes towards girls sports. In a similar vein Charligh develops an understanding and patience for herself, and deals with ableism as she take this huge step closer to her dreams of being a world famous performer. 

In the book, Charligh is diagnosed as dyspraxic. Why was it important for you to include this element to the story?

While I’d say there’s a lot more awareness and understanding of different ways of thinking in recent years, dyspraxia in particular continues to be a form of neurodivergence which many people have little or no knowledge of. It’s often misunderstood as something that only affects gross and fine motor movement, and in the book Charligh does indeed struggle to keep up with her team-mates and master the art of dribbling. However, I chose to focus more on presenting some of the lesser known symptoms related to sensory and perception issues and how it can affect speech, memory, organization skills and navigating social interactions. 

So although I knew Charligh was dyspraxic in Jaz Santos, I made the decision to illustrate it more explicitly for this second book and to do in a way that promotes self-acceptance and being patient with yourself even when others don’t always afford you that level of kindness or understanding. It was important for me to present her story to young readers as a celebration of difference and to spotlight the positives of having dyspraxia. 

What are you working on next? Can we expect any more titles in the Dream Team series? 

I’m currently writing the third and final title in the series which centres on Naomie ‘Mensa’ Osei, who excels in STEM subjects and dreams of being an astrophysicist. It follows her journey in the last term of Year 6 as she strives to live up to her reputation of being the most academically intelligent and musically talented child in her class, as well as helping lead the Save Our Library campaign. Naomie has always had time to do it all and have time for fun, friendship and football.  But for the first time ever she wonders if she will fail to reach her goals and fail her friends. 

Through her narrative, I explore how increasing societal expectations on young people to attain excellence and be exceptional in all areas can come at a  cost to their health and wellbeing. Particularly people from marginalized backgrounds who all too often are expected to work twice as hard to ‘make it’.