Break the Fall

December 15, 2019
A gymnast's road to the Olympics is complicated when her demanding coach becomes embroiled in a ripped-from-the-headlines scandal. Seventeen-year-old Audrey Lee is thrilled to make the U.S. gymnastics team alongside her best friend, Emma. Pain from a back injury is a constant threat, but Audrey isn't about to let it derail her shot at Olympic gold in Tokyo. When her coach is arrested and accused of sexually assaulting Audrey's teammate Dani, Audrey is surprised and dismayed that not everyone on the team believes Dani's story. With Tokyo on the horizon, the fractured team must come together if they want to deliver a big win. Audrey has also caught the eye of handsome snowboard champion Leo Adams, but there's no time (well, maybe a little time) for romance. Readers looking for in depth #MeToo commentary won't find it: While still compelling, the storyline provides more of a background for the nuts and bolts of competitive gymnastics, expertly capturing the excitement and pressure of being part of a high-level sports team as well as the mental and physical sacrifices. The dynamics between the teammates, while angst-y, feel mostly realistic, and the importance of women and girls supporting one another is emphasized. Audrey is biracial (her father is white, and her mother was adopted from Korea), Leo is biracial (black/white), Dani is Mexican American, and there is additional diversity in the supporting cast. An uplifting quest for Olympic victory. (Fiction. 12-18)

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December 23, 2019
In this timely novel by Iacopelli (the Outer Banks Tennis Academy series), 17-year-old Korean-American gymnast Audrey Lee, working to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in spite of recent back surgery, finds her lifetime dream on the line for complex reasons. One day after qualifying to represent the U.S., Audrey’s team gets the astonishing news that one of their members has been suspended for doping. Several days later, they learn that their coach has been arrested for allegedly falsifying those drug results and sexually abusing the same girl. Tension builds as the athletes’ training team is fired and the young women begin working under a new coach with unorthodox methods, including visualization. Plagued by back pain and constantly worrying that every routine might be her last, Audrey’s emotional roller coaster grows more turbulent when she’s forced to put her budding romance with her new coach’s son on hold. Detailed descriptions of training sessions and step-by-step accounts of gymnastics routines combine with #MeToo considerations and dramatic friendship shifts to create a fraught behind-the-scenes look at the lives of young Olympic hopefuls. Particularly compelling is the international female gymnasts’ demonstration of unity against sexual harassment, a show of empowerment in every arena. Ages 12–up. Agent: Alice Sutherland-Hawes, Madeleine Milburn.

January 1, 2020

Gr 8 Up-A coach's betrayal nearly derails the dreams of a team of elite gymnasts in this ripped-from-the-headlines novel. Audrey Lee's injured back means that her hopes of competing at the Olympic level-and medaling-are fading fast. She succeeds in qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team, only to have her world shattered when a teammate accuses the coach of sexual assault. With only a few weeks to get ready for the biggest competition of their lives, Audrey and her teammates confront their own biases and beliefs. This book tackles difficult, important subject matter-who to believe when accusations are made and the role others can play in enabling predatory behavior (either through actions or simply by looking the other way) but, ultimately, the book fails to live up to its full potential. Iacopelli focuses heavily on the day-to-day routines of the gymnasts, which is an interesting subject in its own right, but this comes at the cost of her characters. Readers never see enough of Audrey's teammates, or her relationship to them, to feel the whole impact of their divisions over the assault accusations, the pain of the accuser, and the near-breakdown of the team as a whole. Audrey's budding relationship with the son of a former gymnast, on the other hand, provides some nice romantic notes that help keep the pages turning. VERDICT With its realistic portrayal of the fallout from sexual assault, this novel gives young readers a lot to think about, but its lack of a deep emotional hook and steady focus on the minutiae of gymnastics make it a secondary purchase.-Bobbi Parry, East Baton Rouge Parish School System, LA

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