Name: Becky's review of Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli
Item: Break the Fall
Rating: 3
Author: Becky

Jennifer Iacopelli

"This book makes you understand exactly what it is like to compete as a woman at the highest level in sport, and it is exhilarating and satisfying indeed." --Holly Sorensen, Television Creator/Showrunner, Make it or Break It, Step Up: High Water Audrey Lee is going to the Olympics. A year ago, she could barely do a push up as she recovered from a spine surgery, one that could have paralyzed her. And now? She's made the United States gymnastics team with her best friend, Emma, just like they both dreamed about since they were kids. She's on top of the world. The pressure for perfection is higher than ever when horrifying news rips the team apart. Audrey is desperate to advocate for her teammate who has been hurt by the one person they trusted most--but not all the gymnasts are as supportive. With the team on the verge of collapse, the one bright spot in training is Leo, her new coach's ridiculously cute son. And while Audrey probably (okay, definitely) shouldn't date him until after the games, would it really be the end of the world? Balancing the tenuous relationship between her teammates with unparalleled expectations, Audrey doesn't need any more distractions. No matter what it takes, she's not going to let anyone bring them down. But with painful revelations, incredible odds, and the very real possibility of falling at every turn, will Audrey's determination be enough?

Break the Fall

Sarah

A fiercely told survivorship novel about one girl's determination to push her body to win gold at the Olympics, and the power of uniting as women to speak out. The only thing seventeen-year-old Audrey Lee dreams about is swinging her way to Olympic glory. Nothing is going to stop her, not even the agony in her back. Every spasm and ache will be worth it once she has that gold medal around her neck. But none of her training prepares her for her coach being led away in handcuffs, accused by a fellow gymnast of the unthinkable. No one knows what, or who to believe and Audrey's teammates go into meltdown. As the Olympic torch closes in, Audrey has no idea who to trust, let alone what life holds after her final dismount. The only thing she can do is hope that in the end, belief in herself and what's left of her team, will be enough for gold.

Becky

What can I say? I should probably have read this before the Olympics. Or even during or straight after when I was still in the Olympics hype. I love a good book about gymnastics and you could tell the author was a fan of the sport. It just missed something to push my rating higher. The descriptions of Audrey's thoughts as she competed and all of the elements of hers and others routines was spot on. I loved it even though I don't always know the names of everything in gymnastics. You could tell the passion. And I liked the characters and their struggles through the book. I think it just fell down on the romance and the flow of the book at times wasn't perfect for me. But I did enjoy it. I almost DNFed at one point but I liked Audrey and wanted to see how her Olympic journey progressed.

Samantha

You can find my mini review over here on Instagram as part of the Aus YA bloggers tour. :)

A year after being nearly paralyzed, Audrey Lee is going to the Olympics but the United States' gymnastics team is on the verge of collapse and Leo, her new coach's cute son, is another distraction.

laura

* I got this book for review from my publisher* 
I thought this was the prefect read that summed by the lead up to the olympics in this gymanticsts world. I not only read this book so quickly because i wanted to know how the competition shook out but i also grew to care about the all the characters even though this story was only told from one character POV. I also really enjoyed how this book look at the darker side of gymnastics looking at toxic coaching and also abusive coaching. Well def read more by this author in the future.

Jeni Enjaian

It has been a long time since I have read a book as cliché as this one. This story read like a young girl's daydream of competing in gymnastics at the Olympics, the kind of daydream one has after watching high level competition. It reads this way even though Iacopelli attempted to throw some drama in there with the coach and the sexual abuse, trying to pull a Law and Order "ripped from the headlines" sort of thing. 
Of course, Iacopelli could not have predicted COVID and the immense changes that have happened with the 2020 Tokyo games but that definitely contributed to the childish fantasy sort of feel to this book.
Absolutely do not recommend.

Emily C Peterson

This was good, but so much of it was just reading out gymnastics routines. We got a spelled out version of Audrey's beam routine at least four times.

Ethel

A powerful book that will get your heartbeat high

Key words: sexual assault, gymnastics, Olympics, pressure, pain, fiction, friendship 

Wow. This was an astonishing book; I was not expecting this. Every time I opened this book, my heartbeat sped up. It is so weird to have this feeling and it stressed me so much, I don’t think I was ever that stressed for myself in my life. I loved the story and the characters so much. Jennifer Iacopelli made them come to life before my eyes and I cried more than one time for them. I may be a bit biased as I just love gymnastic and used to practice this sport when I was younger but even without my small knowledge of the sport, I think this book is great. Everything is well explained concerning this sport and the story/theme behind is very well highlighted and dealt with. The main theme behind this story is sexual assault and I think it is very well addressed. We see how people react differently, we understand why they do and how they think. It is very interesting, especially when sexual assault in sport is not that seldom. Some people have just too much power over others and then bad things happen. This book raises awareness and I was very glad to see at the end numbers and contact that people could reach if in need. The story is about after the abuse happened, about believed in the victims, about rebuilding one’s self and being there for one another. 

I absolutely recommend this book.

Kate

THIS WAS SO GREAT. 

I can't count the number of times I caught myself thinking about this book randomly throughout the day, I also can't remember the last time a book made me think about it randomly throughout the day as much as this did. It was brilliantly written, powerful in its message and execution, empowering and totally and utterly addictive. I had heart palpitations numerous times throughout the girls' routines, which were vivid and expertly described. 

I have truly never regretted my height and fear of falling (or hurting myself in any way, I'm a wuss, let's be honest) causing me to be a terrible gymnast as a child more than I did whilst reading this book. 

With its diverse cast of characters superb discussions on sexual assault, power imbalances, race, friendship, ambition and exploration how far is 'too far' when it comes to achieving your dreams, I don't doubt this book will stick with me for a long time. Plus, this fed all my 'Make it or Break it' bookish dreams I didn't realise I had (and I never even finished the show.)

TW: Discussions of sexual assault.

Sarah &
Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli

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Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli