Never Say Quit

Rejected by the local soccer team, a motley assortment of kids decides to recruit enough members to form their own team. They call themselves the Misfits, intending to describe their racial, economic and emotional makeup. Needing a coach, they draft their former principal, now an alcoholic. In exchange for payment in beers, he takes on their cause and, using self-esteem boosters, pulls the team together. Along the way, he solves (with alarming ease) various problems related to immigration and physical abuse. The pat solutions and cliched wisdom negate any possible credibility. Characters are little more than personifications of social problems, while colorless writing and a predictable plot further weaken this would-be Breakfast Club . Ages 8-12. (Apr.)