A review by liralen
Gold Medal Summer by Donna Freitas
3.0
It always surprises me that there aren’t more gymnastics novels, or at least not more that I’ve been able to find. Granted, there’s a pretty narrow window in terms of the best time to promote them (say, once every four summers...), but even so—doesn’t gymnastics garner enough interest to warrant more books about it? It’s also unique in that female competitors are typically in their teenage years (don’t get me started on the very different standards for male and female gymnastics)—so, as far as target markets go, it’s spot on.
This is aimed at slightly younger readers than I’d expected, but it’s a fun read. It places Joey at a crossroads of sorts—can she go big (and does she have the drive to do so), or is it time to take a step back and re-evaluate what she wants her teenage years to look like? Joey’s lucky in that her training is pretty benign (for lack of a better word), and between that and your typical early-teenage woes, it makes for an easy, light read.
This is aimed at slightly younger readers than I’d expected, but it’s a fun read. It places Joey at a crossroads of sorts—can she go big (and does she have the drive to do so), or is it time to take a step back and re-evaluate what she wants her teenage years to look like? Joey’s lucky in that her training is pretty benign (for lack of a better word), and between that and your typical early-teenage woes, it makes for an easy, light read.