The Power of Underdog Stories for Young Readers

Why do we love underdog stories so much? Maybe because they remind us that courage isn’t about being the strongest, but about daring to rise when the odds are stacked against us…

When I look back at the theme for Forever Night, I see a familiar pattern, and this pattern is found in all of my stories. And that is, the story of the underdog.

I am obsessed with this theme and it sneaks into every tale I write, whether I intend to or not. I think because this is how I see my own journey through life.

Despite the setbacks, the fear, the insecurities—I’ve managed to fight the odds, so I know what is possible when we dream big. And I want to inspire the same courage within young readers.

I write stories like Forever Night to give children courage when life feels hard — to help them believe in themselves even if no one else does. Because every child deserves to see themselves as the hero of their own story.

And my hope is that Caramath, the young hero of this tale, will help inspire young readers to believe in possibilities not because he is confident and brave, but because he’s not.

He is flawed and scared, and lacks belief from his fellow peers, but he leads with his heart – and perhaps that’s the most courageous thing we can do.

Not Everyone get’s the Underdog, and that’s the point…

Not all readers understand the power of underdog stories.

I once had a reader review one of my underdog stories (The Ugly Pony – you can read for free here) with a 2 star review – it was devastating, but when I read her review, there was a part of me that agreed with her (not the 2 star review – after all, it has 100s of 5 star reviews from happy readers).

But she said, ‘there’s too much negativity to be heart warming’. and there was a tiny kernel of truth in that because:

My stories are not all cute and fluffy and unrealistic.

They deal with challenging emotions and challenging situations because life isn’t a fairy tale.

Offering young readers tales that deal with these issues, gives them a safe space in which to empathise and connect, and in some cases, to heal. They discover that their big emotions are valid, and it’s okay not to be okay all of the time. That it is possible to go against the grain and trust yourself even if no one else does.

Perfect heroes don’t help real kids.

Our children need characters who stumble, doubt, and still choose bravery — so they can see that their own fears don’t disqualify them from being heroes too. 

And early readers have appreciated the dimensions Caramath brings. Here are a few reviews: 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “A tale of bravery and honesty – Caramath is such an admirable character; brave, honest, caring, and ethical.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  “A wonderful novel – This delightful story invites you on a journey with incredible creatures, strong characters, and heroes.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  “Most intriguing – I read it with my 8 year old daughter who wanted to stay up past bed time to find out what happened next. It was hard to put it down.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ” A special experience- the cast of characters was fabulous – Sirens, Dragons etc.. and the ending was the best ever.”

With these early reviews it makes me think… maybe we don’t need to offer young readers perfect fairy tales that teaches them some fairy godmother will magically appear and save them. But maybe, these underdog stories can remind children that by being true, brave, and caring, they might just find their own inner courage to believe in themselves. 

And that is the real magic of stories.