Books with author Sandra Diersch

Caitlynn is no fan of the water, but after breaking her ankle playing soccer, swimming is the safest sport for her. She makes a deal with her grandfather to join a swim team if he'll stay and watch all of her practices. But after Grandpa has a stroke and can no longer tag along, Caitlynn doesn't want to keep up her end of the deal. In False Start, overcoming obstacles requires more than hard work-it takes a positive attitude.

Christine and Danelle have been best friends forever, a relationship as seemingly infinite as the glow-in-the-dark stars they have affixed to their bedroom ceilings. Lately, though, the girls have been drifting apart, as Danelle's quirky moods turn into wild and reckless acts. At first Christine wonders if her friend is on drugs, but what kind of drugs make you climb a rooftop one moment and send you into the depths of despair the next? The truth behind Danelle's ups and downs is far more complex and dangerous than Christine ever could have anticipated. Ceiling Stars is a moving story about the strength and limits of friendship in the presence of mental illness.

Alecia's soccer team, the Vancouver Burrards, is the one stable thing in her life. Everything else is new or changing: a new school, a new stepfather.When Anne, Alecia's friend and the Burrards' best player, decides to quit playing, Alecia decides to fight to keep the team together. She soon learns, however, that life's hardest matches are fought off the soccer pitch.Alecia's Challenge shows how the struggles and joys of life and sport are intertwined.

Alecia's Vancouver soccer team, the Burrards, are a good, hard-fighting squad—her teammates are her friends and her coach is her loving step-dad. When Lexi, a new kid, joins the team, her bad attitude makes things fall apart fast. Alecia decides to find out what makes Lexi so difficult, and to hold the team together, on the field and off. Offside! shows how embracing unexpected change can make teams, and players, stronger.

When Debbie is on the basketball court she feels free and alive. But while she's a good player she's also an aggressive one, and rough tactics get her in trouble more than once. Off the court she's different from other girls, a foster child without "real" parents of her own. When Debbie learns she's going to be adopted, her world is turned upside down. Until, that is, she's accused of stealing from a teamate. From then on, it's an uphill battle to prove herself to her new parents and her team. Home Court Advantage shows how young players' behavior on the court and their lives off it are inextricably linked. [Fry Reading Level - 3.2

Alecia is about to be adopted by a new stepfather, her soccer team, the Burrads, is preparing for the championship game, and a cute new boy has arrived on the scene. But there are even more changes on the horizon. The team's game is suffering as the players get distracted by other interests. If the Burrads are to make it to the finals, they must renew their commitment to their sport and to each other. Play On is the satisfying conclusion to the acclaimed series that also includes Offside and Alecia's Challenge.

Jessie Cameron has been training at her Vancouver swim club for half her lifetime when Troy Aitken, a seemingly natural athlete who's built like a Greek god, joins up. Troy starts paying attention to Jessie, and Jessie is definitely interested in return. Soon, however, her friends share rumours about how Troy got to be such a strong, powerful swimmer in the first place. Torn between her old and new friends, Jessie decides to find out the truth for herself. Great Lengths is a taut, suspenseful story about the high-pressure world of competitive swimming.

Alecia's soccer team, the Vancouver Burrards, is the one stable thing in her life. Everything else is new or changing: a new school, a new stepfather.When Anne, Alecia's friend and the Burrards' best player, decides to quit playing, Alecia decides to fight to keep the team together. She soon learns, however, that life's hardest matches are fought off the soccer pitch.Alecia's Challenge shows how the struggles and joys of life and sport are intertwined.

Alecia is about to be adopted by a new stepfather, her soccer team, the Burrards, is preparing for the championship game, and a cute new boy has arrived on the scene. But there are even more changes on the horizon. The team's game is suffering as the players get distracted by other interests. If the Burrards are to make it to the finals, they must renew their commitment to their sport and to each other. Play On is the satisfying conclusion to the acclaimed series that also includes Offside! and Alecia's Challenge.