Jesse’s new novel comes just in time for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and
tells the story of a young gymnast whose dreams of making the national team are
dashed when her parents can no longer afford to keep her training at her gym.
Bitter and disillusioned, she grudgingly accepts her new life as a common
citizen only to have the chance of a lifetime fall right in her lap: an
invitation to serve as team captain of the United States’ new girls’ gymnastics
team.

Without giving anything away, let me just say that I found the book to
be highly entertaining, not as a fast-paced sports novel, but as a more
introspective character study which just happens to take place in the sports
world. I would compare it to White Palms—an EXCELLENT gymnastics film—in that
the focus is on the characters and not just the gymnastics. Even so, Jesse comes
across as knowing his sport. There are also plenty of interesting societal ideas
tossed around. For example, people competing in any capacity—whether it be
sports or academics—are called “elites” and enjoy various benefits over “common”
citizens, such as discounted food prices, free housing, and free public
transportation. There’s also an underlying theme of the need for secrecy in a
world where surveillance is the rule, and EVERYONE is chipped (or “tagged”).
I liked Monica’s character a lot, mostly because she felt real, she had genuine,
raw emotions and she made mistakes. She learned her lessons the hard way.
There’s a lot here that middle school readers could relate to. Outside a handful
of swear words and an in insinuated rape scene, I don’t understand why this is
being marketed as an adult novel. Jesse is obviously a competent writer, but I
think this would fare very well as a young adult novel with a little more action
in the first few chapters. That’s the reason I gave five stars: because I think
there’s such a thing as being a little TOO character-oriented. This was still a
fantastic look inside the mind of a child athlete, and was ultimately more
satisfying than Stories From the Steel Garden. Recommended for fans of
gymnastics and socio political fiction alike.