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  • Writer's pictureLafourche Parish Public Library

Brooke's Pick: Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein



Like many women of my generation, I grew up watching the "Magnificent Seven" win gymnastics gold at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Gymnastics captured the fascination of young girls nationwide, aspiring many to dream big and imagine the impossible. So when scandal broke in the gymnastics community in recent years, detailing physical, emotional, mental, and sexual abuse of young athletes at the hands of trusted doctors and coaches, people around the world were shocked and horrified to learn that too often the cost of winning gold medals is subjecting children to the unthinkable.

Hannah Orenstein, author of Love at First Like and Playing with Matches, shines a spotlight on the world of elite gymnastics in her new novel Head Over Heels, a rom-com featuring two former gymnasts coaching a promising young athlete to Olympic glory amidst a breaking scandal in the gymnastics community.

Avery Abrams has been aimlessly drifting after she just barely missed achieving her lifelong dream of competing in the 2012 Olympic Games. Once a gymnastics superstar with incredible potential, Avery had an unfortunate fall at the Olympic trials, which changed the trajectory of her life forever. It is now seven years later and Avery still doesn't know what to do with her life; that is, until she is offered a job alongside her former crush Ryan to coach Hallie, a gymnastics prodigy with real potential of making the 2020 Olympic team.

Joining Ryan's coaching team and kindling a romance with him while gaining Hallie's trust and respect as her mentor, Avery finally has a purpose and something to work toward. But when scandal breaks in the world of elite gymnastics, Avery is forced to confront the demons of her past - can she save Hallie from the same struggles and abuses she endured as a young girl?

Heavy on the gymnastics, light on the romance, Head Over Heels is the perfect read for anyone who is a fan of the sport. Orenstein goes into great detail about what it is like to be a gymnast training for the Olympics, and she shares so much knowledge of gymnastics, one can't help but wonder if she didn't once train and compete herself.

For those who are saddened that COVID cancelled all of our Olympic binge watching plans this summer, Head Over Heels is the next best thing; although its complete disregard of the pandemic is also my only real complaint about this otherwise intriguing and delightful novel. No one could have predicted COVID taking over our lives and disrupting the 2020 Olympic games, but the fact that this novel marches on towards its dreams of an Olympics that were actually set to happen, was incredibly distracting to me as a reader. Every time I turned the page and read about Avery and company living their lives in a 2020 not upturned by the pandemic, I couldn't help but think of the state of the world today. But if you're able to look past the fact that Head Over Heels takes place in the "2020 that could have been," you will find so much to love about this novel, including interesting, engaging characters and a compelling plot.

As a note, the side plots - scandal in the gymnastics community and Avery's budding relationship with Ryan - are kept light and are not delved into in great detail. This book is marketed as a rom-com, but really, Avery and Ryan's romance is something happening in the periphery of this gymnastics-centered novel. Additionally, although the abuse of gymnasts is an important plot line of this book, it is not the main focus, with training for the 2020 Olympic games being the main star of this captivating novel.


Availability: Book Rating: **** Stars (I really liked it) Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian

 

ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH? DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS! Head Over Heels


GENRE: Chick Lit; Romantic Comedies; Sports Romances WRITING STYLE: Engaging; Well-Researched TONE: Amusing CHARACTER: Likeable LOCATION: Massachusetts SUBJECT: Best Friends; Breaking Up; Emotional Abuse; Female Friendship; Gymnastics; Gymnastics Coaches; Life Change Events; Scandals; Women


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