Kayak Combat is set in the highly competitive sport of kayak racing. When it's announced that Cody's Calgary kayaking club will host a Canada-wide competition, no one doubts that Cody will represent them. He is the team's best paddler, after all. But Cody and the others aren't counting on a new guy from Ontario arriving who can out-paddle them all. Cody's desire to be the best is put to the test one stormy day when he notices his rival's kayak missing from the clubhouse. Cody has a choice to make: attempt a solo rescue, or eliminate the competition... This story about overcoming rivalry and learning to put others first is sure to make a splash with reluctant readers. [Fry Reading Level - 3.8

Set against a backdrop of the threat of wildfires on the west coast, this book looks at the effect changes at home can have on a young athlete’s performance and the emotional support a team can provide. Thirteen-year-old kayaker Finn has been angry and resentful since his mother left the family. In a highly charged emotional state, Finn’s performance is not only suffering, but he is also taking things out on his teammates. Like the wildfires that threaten Finn’s Okanagan training camp, this book shows how new beginnings arise after a destructive event.

Fourteen-year-old Griffin Finch attends school on scholarship and is struggling to stay on the basketball team. Knowing he has to step up his game, Griffin spends the summer playing basketball on a street court for a team called the Running Rebels in the hardscrabble Toronto neighbourhood of Regent Park. Griffin's hoop skills are taken to the next level by playing alongside streetball stars — especially Fly Davis, the best player in the league. But a summer of fast, high-scoring play ends with Griffin running home, frightened by violence in the street. Griffin makes his school team and persuades Fly to apply for a scholarship to his school. Having Fly on the team inspires Griffin's teammates and helps increase their team's chance of winning. But opposing ideas of how basketball should be played lead to a standoff between Fly and Coach, and Fly quits the team. How can Griffin convince Coach and the rest of his team that they need to play run-and-gun basketball to win? And can he bring together his schoolmates and his friends from Regent Park?