Side Out, Paperback

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. Miserable, Dina is torn between staying true to her religious customs or putting them aside to play the game she loves.

Barbara L. Clanton is a native New Yorker opted for the slower-paced palm-tree-filled life in Orlando, Florida. She played softball at Princeton and was the captain her senior year. She currently teaches mathematics at a college preparatory school in the Orlando area and has coached both softball and basketball in both New York and Florida. She still plays softball and plays bass guitar in a pop-rock band called The Flounders.