Head Over Heels: A Novel Paperback – June 23, 2020

I'll start by saying that I bought this book because it's a July selection for Book of the Month. It wasn't my top choice, but the preview was interesting enough that I thought it would be worth buying. I am not interested in most sports, but I have loved women's gymnastics ever since the 1996 Olympics. I follow collegiate gymnastics and women's gymnastics is my favorite competition of the summer Olympics. It is one of the minor tragedies of the global pandemic that we're not getting to enjoy the Olympics this summer. This book in a very tiny way filled a little bit of that void for me.That being said, this book would probably not have held my interest if I were not interested in gymnastics. It's a good book, but it's pretty straightforward. There's no intricate plot here or major twists to be found. The characters themselves are not overly complex, either, but it's such a light read does it really matter? The book does deal with some current issues such as abuse of young female athletes and the #MeToo movement, but it neither adds much to the plot or contributes anything new to the real-life conversation.Still, I enjoyed this book for what it was. It's light and fluffy and exactly what I needed right now in a book. It only took me a couple of days to read it and I don't regret the time spent! If, like me, you enjoy gymnastics and/or watching the summer Olympics, you will probably enjoy Head Over Heels.

Absolutely perfect beach read! This was incredibly fun to read, I had to finish it in just one day.Excellent character development, Avery felt so real and believable in her struggles and how she grew.I’d say the author was well researched, but no need to research as it’s clear her passion for the sport shone through. The level of subject matter expertise for the sport was present, though it was written in a way that I could still understand the technical terms so I can paint a picture of the gymnastics in my mind.Overall, such a fun book that allowed me to escape our reality of 2020 and go to a more fun place.

A fictional peek into the world of elite gymnastics from the point of view of one of the girls who doesn’t make the cut. In this case, she was widely expected to be on the Olympic team but suffered a career-ending injury during the Olympic Trials competition. Obviously this is devastating for the main character, who has difficulty coping with her loss and who struggles to create a new and different life for herself.The book talks about the fact that so many girls train their whole lives for a chance to compete in the Olympics, but there are only a few spots available. The girls who make it are stars, but what about all the girls who don’t make the team? Especially the ones who were legitimate contenders, the ones who came close? In this book it takes years for the main character to deal with her grief for the lost dream and the accompanying depression she experiences.The book shows us how very long and how very hard these girls train. How tricky the timing is - the gymnast must wait to be old enough and good enough to compete, but she also ages out in just a few years. So, because the Olympics is held only every four years, a girl might have only one realistic shot at making the team. Puberty is not the friend of a female gymnast, who is expected to stay small. (Male gymnasts, on the other hand, are not adversely affected by puberty because it tends to make them more muscular, which is an asset in their side of the sport.) So girls eat sparingly to stay tiny. They train through injuries or even attempt to hide injuries. They are tutored and so miss out on attending school with other kids. They feel constant pressure to do more, work harder, be better.The book also shows some of the huge sacrifices made by the families of these young athletes. In time spent shuttling the girls to practice and traveling to competitions, in money spent paying for years of lessons and training. Families often relocate to be near the best coach. Siblings might feel neglected.Tough (and timely) topics are addressed, including coaches who are bullying, doctors or trainers who are sexually abusive, and the big mental health challenges these young athletes face.Despite all of this, it is an uplifting story. There is a cute romance, a reunion of lost friends, and positive developments for the main character. And we get to follow a different girl who does succeed, leaving the reader with a different kind of happy ending.

This book surprised me by how good it was. I thought it would be an easy, light romance. It had romance, but it also spent time on some heavy subjects. Mental health, mental and sexual abuse, and overcoming failure. It was not as light as I had thought for it being a romance in the world of gymnastics. I am a stickler for good character development, and Avery had an amazing journey. She started out a failed, depressed athlete trying to find herself in a world she wasn't prepared for. She grew into an incredible woman speaking out for others who struggling and set young women up for success. There was a little spice thrown in too, but not a lot. I may have not been prepared for the emotional roller coaster this book would take me on, but I would highly recommend it.

Not a overly complicated novel. It's a cute story about a girl who trained to go to the Olympics but failed and fell into depression. She had no outlook into her future until she moved back home and started coaching another girl who had her own shot at going.Add in there a brief love story (which the book doesn't as much revolve around to me) and it ties together. Worth a read!

I bought this book because it was in the genre I like and it was cheap. It was a good buy! It kept my interest and kept me coming back as I wanted to know what happened.

Hard to know how to rate this. The book itself was decent and fairly well written however I really didn’t care about the romance. The novel is way more focused on the protagonist and her self image and her relationship with the young athlete she trains. In comparison the romance feels like an after thought. Also whilst I thought the story was well constructed I struggle to forgive the love interest for the way he behaved.So overall a good read but not a couple I care about, it is also way more drama/character driven than romance/humour driven.

If you love simple love stories and round around humour you will like it. Also as we missed the Olympic’s this year, we get a glimpse of hardcore workouts a gymnast goes through to compete in. A refreshing story of a gymnast who finds her path.

A great read, relatively light but with some depth and challenging issues. A wonderful insight into the world of gymnastics with a lovely romance woven in!