"Head Over Heels" review: The Olympics are not cancelled
- Elisa Reamer
- Oct 11, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 15, 2020
Hannah Orenstein portrays what life is like of a gymnast training for the Olympics in a unique way. The book begins with the main character, Avery, being forced to leave her luxurious L.A life and move back to live in her parent’s house in New England after getting her heartbroken. When she moved back, she needed to get her life back on track.
When her childhood crush, Ryan, called her to meet a superstar gymnast, Hallie, she took the leap and went back to the gym. Avery instantly knew that Hallie needed her as a coach if she was going to advance to Nationals and then the Olympics from there.
Orenstein writes about the training struggles, the harsh realities of being a gymnast, sexual assault within the sport and more. There is even a little hot romance between Ryan and Avery. Every gymnast and coach need to read this book. It is beautiful and without being able to view the 2020 Olympics on TV, readers will be able to get a little sense of it through words.
Even if you are not a gymnast-like me, Orenstein does a great job of explaining the technical terms and what each skill is. Readers will not want to put this book down because they will be so involved with Avery’s life and what happens next.
The book is sectioned off by months-stopping in July 2020 when the Tokyo Olympic Games were planned to be. Does Hallie train hard enough to make it to the Olympics, or are her dreams forced to end? Read the book to find out.
*I have included some links that you can donate to support victims of sexual assault, rape, and incest (Rainn is mentioned in the book) and the NGF. If you are brave enough to speak up about your experiences, I am so proud of you. Please remember it is not your fault and 100% theirs.
Donate to Rainn, a company that supports sexual assault victims: https://donate.rainn.org/donate?_ga=2.135800182.614403869.1596492757-1982911180.1596492757
Donate to the National Gymnastics Foundation: https://www.gymnasticsfoundation.org/donateonline/
Thanks for reading and if you chose to donate to either (or both), thank you,
Elisa Reamer
“To all the athletes who spoke up about the abuse in gymnastics, I’m in awe of your strength, bravery, and perseverance. Thank you for making this sport safer.” -Hannah Orenstein
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