Books with author Maureen Ulrich

Jessie McIntyre, 14, is new to Estevan Junior High, and she’s having trouble fitting in. By signing her up with the local girls hockey team, her parents hope to give her a fresh start and help her make new friends, but bullies can be found everywhere—including the dressing room. Power Plays, a gritty tale about the problems facing today’s teens, is sprinkled with humour, heart-pounding hockey action, life lessons, and positive female role models.

Jessie has left the close friendships she’s had since her childhood and isn’t having an easy time fitting into her new Grade Nine class. An older girl, Kim, takes a disliking to her, pushing her around and setting her up to be attacked by a group of really rough kids who land her in jail. It looks like life is going to be downhill from now on. Then, because she used to play ringette, Jessie is invited to try out for the girls hockey team. She doesn’t expect to like it, but as her skills grow, she makes new friends – girls who respect each other and rely on each other’s strength and hard work. Some even help her resist the bullies, until she can stand up for herself – stand up to Kim, who’s a pretty good hockey player herself, although not as good as she thinks she is. A fast-paced story about hockey, peer pressure and finding yourself.

Face Off begins where Power Plays ends, the girls have shifted from hockey to ball with an exciting summer looming before them. Things are perfect for Jessie: high school, hockey and Mark. Jessie thinks she has things under control. She can handle the new environment and the new pressure. One party, one wrong choice and all that changes. MySpace; YouTube – her actions are everywhere. And worst of all Mark is gone and doesn’t want to ever speak to her. How will she fix this? Once again, hockey is the antidote to life’s mysteries and navigating the ice is a whole lot easier than high school. Jessie learns who her true friends are and maybe, just maybe, she can put things right for Mark and her. Ulrich has hit a winning combination of fast-paced hockey action and realistic teen experiences. On the ice and off, Jessie and her friends present situations facing many young teens and the hockey action once again keeps the pace high.

Jessie is in her last year of high school and finally playing AAA, the highest level of minor hockey there is. She’s been made captain, and she’s putting relationship disasters behind her by dating wonderful, sensible Evan. So what if he’s safely away at university where she can ignore his calls and texts? And so what if her old-news feelings about old flame Mark, and uncomfortable new feelings towards new guy Liam, refuse to be ignored? At last, Jessie really has things worked out.But things have a way of conspiring against her, and somehow Jessie ends up fighting rumours that threaten her captaincy, rumours some of her less-than-supportive team-mates are only too happy to keep alive. Meanwhile, her eleven-year-old sister Courtney falls in with sophisticated older friends, and their parents seem oblivious to the problem.New Year approaches, bringing an important tournament, increasingly outlandish behaviour from Courtney, and what looks like a head-on relationship collision from three directions. It’s time for Jessie to grow up, step up, and fix things once and for all.

Fourteen-year-old Jessie moves to a new city and learns teamwork, self-reliance and a new kind of friendship when she joins the girls' hockey team. Jessie has left the close friendships she's had since her childhood and isn't having an easy time fitting into her new Grade Nine class. An older girl, Kim, takes a disliking to her, pushing her around and setting her up to be attacked by a group of really rough kids who land her in jail. It looks like life is going to be downhill from now on. Then, because she used to play ringette, Jessie is invited to try out for the girls hockey team. She doesn't expect to like it, but as her skills grow, she makes new friends - girls who respect each other and rely on each other's strength and hard work. Some even help her resist the bullies, until she can stand up for herself - stand up to Kim, who's a pretty good hockey player herself, although not as good as she thinks she is. A fast-paced story about hockey, peer pressure and finding yourself.

In her last year of high school, Jessie is finally playing AAA, the highest level of minor hockey. She's been made captain, and she's putting relationship disasters behind her by dating sensible Evan. So what if he's safely away at university where she can ignore his calls and texts? And so what if her old-news feelings about old flame Mark, and uncomfortable new feelings toward new guy Liam, refuse to be ignored? At last, Jessie really has things worked out. Even when guys and booze make an appearance at a team sleepover, Jessie does the right thing and leaves with the rookies…or tries to. A clumsy fall down stairs, though, leads the coaches to assume she's the culprit. Suddenly Jessie is fighting rumors that she was falling-down drunk at a hockey party, rumors her less-supportive teammates are happy to keep alive. Meanwhile, Jessie's eleven-year-old sister Courtney falls in with sophisticated older friends, and their parents seem oblivious to the problem. New Year approaches, bringing an important tournament, increasingly outlandish behavior from Courtney and what looks like a head-on relationship collision from three directions. It's time for Jessie to grow up, step up and fix things once and for all.

Jessie McIntyre has a perfect life in her new home town. She's going out with a great guy, and she's got lots of friends. She can hardly wait for her second season playing hockey with the Estevan Xtreme in a brand new girls league. But after Jessie makes a stupid decision at a high school party, Mark's not talking to her anymore. Then the Xtreme loses some key players, and she's not looking forward to hockey season either. To make things worse, high school is a whole lot more complicated than junior high ever was. Jessie could seriously use some GPS to help navigate the school cafeteria and the dressing room. Will she find a way to salvage her second hockey season and win back her boyfriend?

Jessie McIntyre, 14, is new to Estevan Junior High, and she’s having trouble fitting in. By signing her up with the local girls hockey team, her parents hope to give her a fresh start and help her make new friends, but bullies can be found everywhere—including the dressing room. Power Plays, a gritty tale about the problems facing today’s teens, is sprinkled with humour, heart-pounding hockey action, life lessons, and positive female role models.Thrust into the world of girls’ hockey, Ulrich’s reader learns the intricacies of playing on a girls’ team and being a girl playing on a boys’ team and the challenges of both. (Amy Mathers, Amy’s Marathon of Books)Ulrich demonstrates that there are many ways to succeed in relationships without resorting to any sort of bullying. She stresses the importance of accepting and celebrating the differences between people rather than using them as an excuse for malicious behaviour. This is an excellent novel which provides lots of action, a little romance, and a great deal to think about. (CM Magazine)The author has managed to insert into the book, without seeming high-handed, a number of other topics, including racism, peer pressure, parental pressure, sexism, and drug and alcohol abuse. I highly recommend this book. With all the underlying themes and topics included in the book, I believe it would be a good one for junior high teachers to include in class discussions. (Prairie Fire Review of Books)Power Plays is amazing, and if you play hockey, then for sure you will love this book. (Koda, 13)Not only are the book's characters relatable and the story packed with heart-pounding hockey action, but Power Plays delivers an important message in a world where girl-on-girl violence has become all too common: standing up to bullies is the only way to end the type of torment that can lead kids down a dangerous path to depression, drug use and even suicide. And she does all this without seeming heavy-handed or preachy. (Calgary Herald)Really good book, really good read. It was easy to follow the plot. The author was able to get the basic teen issues of bullying and loneliness that accompanies moving to a new town and the natural responses of covering up and hiding. (Jordynn, age 15)I learnt many ways to try and stop bullying. The parts about Jessie going to parties was also very true and how it is hard to say no. (Courtney, 12)Maureen Ulrich has grasped many of the key issues young teens are dealing with today and rolled them into one to create a fast-paced novel, like the game of hockey. An inspiring read, sure to help anyone with problems in school, and even without problems in school Power Plays will put a smile on your face. If in need for a humorous uplifting read, Power Plays is definitely the right choice. (What If? Magazine)Power Plays seemed like it was written by a teen. (James, 13)Each teammate has a unique personality, and even the meanest characters turn out to be likable. Readers will relate to Jessie: she chats with her friends on the computer, dates, and has struggles with her parents. Some lessons are imparted along the way, mainly about teamwork, forgiveness, and bullying. (School Library Journal Review)I have seen things like this (bullying) happen before and when I first read this book it gave me goose bumps because it seemed so real. It really made me think about bullying and how it hurts people and how people can be so mean, sometimes without realizing it. (Haylee, 13)As my class read the novel aloud, they laughed together, were intense together, and felt empathy for the characters together. This novel made my class better. (Dana H, teacher)Normally the action parts of sports novels confuse me. Even though I don’t know much about hockey, the novel’s action was easy to understand. (Kaitlyn, 13)