Seventh grader Dina Jacobs feels like she’s landed on another planet when her family moves from Long Island, New York to Indiana. She tries out for the seventh grade volleyball team, and her new friend, Christine, introduces her to Olympic volleyball. Now Dina dreams of playing in the Olympics like her newfound idol, Logan Tom.
Indiana doesn’t seem so bad after all until Dina’s Jewish faith crashes against her coach’s win-at-all-costs attitude. When games are scheduled during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Dina is torn between staying true to her religious customs and putting them aside to play the game she loves.
Set, dig, and spike along with Dina as she pursues her dream of playing volleyball in the Olympics.
Dragonfeather Books
for ages 9 and up
172 pp. ● 5.5×7.5
$11.95 (pb) ● $6.95 (eb)
ISBN 978-1-960373-57-1 (pb)
JUVENILE FICTION – Sports & Recreation
- Volleyball
JUVENILE FICTION – Religious – Jewish
Volleyball – Juvenile fiction
Barbara L. Clanton is a native New Yorker who left those “New York minutes” for the slower-paced palm-tree-filled life in Orlando, Florida. While still in school, she played any sport she could find: softball, volleyball, basketball, and field hockey. She could even be found in the upstairs gym playing team handball with her friends during high school. She played softball at Princeton and was the captain her senior year. She spent most of her adult years teaching mathematics at college preparatory schools and coaching softball and basketball in Florida and New York. She played softball well beyond the time anyone should have but has also picked up a new passion! “Dr. Barb” has played the bass guitar in various pop-rock bands in Central Florida. Her writing credits include the Clarksonville young adult series about four high school girls coming out as lesbians. She is also proud of her girls’ sports stories in the Bedazzled Ink’s Title IX series from their Dragonfeather Books imprint.