Gold Medal Summer
Scholastic Inc | ISBN 9780545327886 Hardcover
240 Pages | 5.72" x 8.55" | Ages 10 to 14
Scholastic Inc | ISBN 9780545483797 Ebook
240 Pages | Ages 9 to 14
Joey Jordan loves gymnastics, but because she's a graceful gymnast in a sport that prizes muscle and power, she's never quite made it to that gold-medal stand. Now she's at a crossroads in her competitive career: Her parents are tired of the toll the sport enacts on their family. Her best friend, Alex, is thinking of quitting, and a cute boy named Tanner—whom Joey doesn't have time to see—makes a "normal" life sound awfully attractive.
But then her coach suggests some exciting new routines that play to Joey's strengths as a gymnast, and as she finds the bravery to navigate all the other changes in her life, her gold-medal summer might happen at last.
Drawing on her own experience as a competitive gymnast, acclaimed novelist Donna Freitas delivers both a terrific sports story and a classic middle-grade novel about stretching some limits, bending the rules, and finding your balance.
Raves & reviews:
Praise for Gold Medal Summer
"Gold Medal Summer more successfully reflects the competitive gymnast's spunk, thanks to Donna Freitas's flashier style and relatable protagonist, 13-year-old Joey Jordan." —The New York Times Book Review
"A sports story that handsprings away from romance and toward a commendable joy in accomplishment." —Kirkus
"Freitas is a former competitive gymnast, and her descriptions of routines are taut and eye-opening. Although the hardships of the sport are not underplayed, this is a largely positive novel about hard work and self-confidence." —School Library Journal