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242nd out of 281 books
—
436 voters
Gold Medal Summer
by
Donna Freitas (Goodreads Author)
Just in time for the Olympics: A gymnastics novel to flip for!
Joey Jordan loves gymnastics: the thrill of performing a backflip on the beam, the cheers of the audience when she sticks a landing. But even with all her talent and style, she's never quite made it to that gold medal stand.
Now big changes shake up Joey's life in and out of the gym. Joey wants to break out some...more
Joey Jordan loves gymnastics: the thrill of performing a backflip on the beam, the cheers of the audience when she sticks a landing. But even with all her talent and style, she's never quite made it to that gold medal stand.
Now big changes shake up Joey's life in and out of the gym. Joey wants to break out some...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
June 1st 2012
by Arthur A. Levine Books
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Having just finished watching the impressive gymnasts competing in the London Olympics, I was more than a little excited to get my hands on this book. I've always admired them, and this book gave me insight into the sacrifices these girls have to make to get to such a high level of competition.
Joey Jordan has been training as a gynmast for most of her 14-year-old life. Unable to avoid getting psyched by her rivals, she feels she's living in the shadow of her older sister, Julia, who won the Nati...more
Joey Jordan has been training as a gynmast for most of her 14-year-old life. Unable to avoid getting psyched by her rivals, she feels she's living in the shadow of her older sister, Julia, who won the Nati...more
For pretty much her entire life, Joey Jordan has had one goal: win a gold medal in gymnastics. Her older sister, Julia, won the gold medal at Nationals a few years ago, and Joey is determined to follow in her footsteps and equally determined that this is her year. But there are problems: her best friend and squadmate, Alex, is thinking about leaving the sport and one of her childhood friends (Tanner) is now back in town and really, REALLY cute---and interested in her. And if there is one rule on...more
I haven't read any MG for awhile now. This is another one I'll mark down as 'must read' for my girls when they are old enough. It's such a sweetly moving story of one girl's summer and how she basically matures and gains confidence in herself.
I found the content to bring back so many nostalgic memories of my own summers around this time of my life. Maybe not so much the gymnastics part of it in my case :) Your first crush, the nervous anticipation of seeing that someone...your first kiss. It was...more
I found the content to bring back so many nostalgic memories of my own summers around this time of my life. Maybe not so much the gymnastics part of it in my case :) Your first crush, the nervous anticipation of seeing that someone...your first kiss. It was...more
I like to read the books my students and children are reading - just so I understand what they are interested in. I found this fascinating, as my daughter truly related to it. It was interesting to hear the thoughts of a character who is as dedicated to gymnastics as my daughter is - kind of like taking a peek into her mind. I think it will help prepare me for the emotions of the next few years as she continues onher quest for success at Nationals - we arenot there yet, but that is my daughters...more
Maybe a 3 1/2 (and the book uses the old scoring system for gymnastics). I liked the idea of reading this close to the time of the Olympics. It seemed a bit cliched, although I really wish my urban students would look at life more like Joey. It was little hard for me to believe that Joey's parents would never go to her meets until the end, and I wondered if opponents really can heckle you as Sarah and Jennifer do in the book. I appreciate that the author is a former gymnast, and I don't think th...more
This is such an amazing book! You really should read this! I am not going to spoil it but make sure you read it! She is a gymnast,and her best friend quit. If you want to know more, READ THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!READ IT I TELL U!!!!!!!!!!!!!Gold Medal Summer
Joey Jordan spends the vast majority of her time practicing gymnastics, just like her older sister Julia did before she retired. Her best friend Trish has trained with her since they were tiny, but things are changing. Trish's ankle has been giving her trouble, and as the girls enter high school, Trish is more interested in boys than in practicing nonstop. Joey is interested in Tanner, with whom she had been friends and who has moved back to town. He is interested in her, but when he wants to wa...more
Review originally posted on Heise Reads & Recommends
I really enjoyed Donna Freitas' first book, THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD, and I expected a similar style of a fun, contemporary, romantic book with a teen girl coming into her own and finding her own strength in becoming confident in herself. GOLD MEDAL SUMMER met that expectation in a great middle grades story that is very timely with the summer Olympics coming up this summer. This book was a quick read because it is definitely written o...more
I really enjoyed Donna Freitas' first book, THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD, and I expected a similar style of a fun, contemporary, romantic book with a teen girl coming into her own and finding her own strength in becoming confident in herself. GOLD MEDAL SUMMER met that expectation in a great middle grades story that is very timely with the summer Olympics coming up this summer. This book was a quick read because it is definitely written o...more
My Thoughts: Do you like gymnastics? Watch Make It Or Break It on ABCFamily? This book reminds me so much of Make It Or Break It, which I love.
We are introduced to Joey who is into gymnastics. She wants to follow in her older sister Julia’s footsteps. She wants to be as great as her, but not retire like her.
Joey wants to win the Gold. Not the Silver or the Bronze, but the Gold.
Joey spends all of her time training, she doesn’t have time for anything else. As she watches her friend Alex give up...more
We are introduced to Joey who is into gymnastics. She wants to follow in her older sister Julia’s footsteps. She wants to be as great as her, but not retire like her.
Joey wants to win the Gold. Not the Silver or the Bronze, but the Gold.
Joey spends all of her time training, she doesn’t have time for anything else. As she watches her friend Alex give up...more
I loved this book so much. It gave me a huge view point from a gymnast's life, and I could not put the book down! (I even had to bring the book with me when I went out to dinner with my family!)It's a well paced book, with an adorable storyline, and I loved the diversity of each character. Each chapter had a sprinkle of laughs, a smile, and a little bit of romance. People who like genres that consist of romance, and sports (active and artistic like gymastics),I reccomend this wonderful book to y...more
I Really liked this book. I would reamend this book to someone who likes gymnastics. Its about a girl who named Joey Jordan who loves gymnastics. She loves to come to the gym and workout! Her dream is to stand up on that podiam. I am just like her, we are both thirteen and in gymnastics. We both have a dream to stand on the first place podiam. She is tring really hard at practice so she will do good at the meets. Some charictors are Joey Jordan, Alex, and Tanner.
A good read following up this summer's Olympics. Middle graders (and some older) will like the drama and the inside look at a competitive gymnast's life. Freitas glosses over some of the uglier realities that I imagine are also a factor in the sport--food is rarely mentioned and weight/body image is never brought up, neither is managing school within their intense training schedule. It makes for a cleaner story, but a less realistic, more glamorized portrayal of elite gymnastics.
The story, Gold Medal Summer, speaks honestly to female athletes of any discipline. The message of hard work mixed with the temptations of crushes and competition will be fascinating to young girls. This realistic story portrays the main character Joey so skillfully, you cheer for her through her failures and triumphs. Gold Medal Summer will not stay on your library shelf!
Great read for reluctant readers--story moves quickly and the gymnastic talk is enough to be interesting but not too much for the average reader to get bogged down while reading Joey's story.
Recommend this read for an Olympic enthusiast this summer.
Recommend this read for an Olympic enthusiast this summer.
Didn't care for the reader on this audio. A good story for middle-school, too young for our kids. Recommended for readers interested in competitive gymnastics (I'm not).
So cute and heartwarming like all of Donna Freitas's books. And perfect to read during the Olympics!
This is exactly the cute little piece of fluff that it looks like, but it is fairly well-done fluff. My main quibble: I didn't buy that the character was only 13-going-on-14; she felt older than that to me. *shrug* I liked the gymnastics stuff, and the too-perfect boy (of course there's a boy!).
Okay, its really written for middle school girls, but I enjoyed it. She really describes the feelings of the gymnast and her parents at competions well!
Not as polished as Freitas's book The Survival Kit, but it's a fun read for younger teens.
This book just has a little romance in it. It's mostly about gymnastics! I liked this book a lot!!!
More for people who like gymnastics but good life lessons
I liked the gymnastics part of it
SM
I couldn't even get through the first chapter, and only because I had no interest in this book. I was just trying to read a new book to see if it's worth putting in as a suggested read for my library...but it was not happening. On to the next one....
A pleasant but somewhat predictable story, with certain implausible elements. The heroine's parents were not convincing in their steadfast avoidance of her competition but I liked her older sister, who was more dimensional and interesting than the heroine.
May 18, 2013
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read
May 13, 2013
Grace
added it
May 03, 2013
B. Rose
marked it as to-read
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Sep 26, 2012 06:49pm