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charlottereadsthings's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Jennifer Iacopelli's young adult novel, Break The Fall, follows a girl calles Audrey who is on track to win big at the olympics. But that dream is put in danger when it's discovered that their coach has taken advantage of one of her teammates.
Given the recent revelations from real world gymnastics associations and sexual assault allegations, this book hit even harder. But what I found interesting was the framing: the story initicially focuses on the allegations against the coach but that quickly moves to background noise as the focus is pushed to the girls trying to get their big win. At first I wasn't sure about this, but the futher I read, the more it made sense. The story is about the girls rising up and achieving greatness, reclaiming their stories and therefore the narrative.
Iacopelli's passion for Gymnastics really comes through and it's clear the love she had for this story and the olympics.
However, I found the story really start to stagnate because, apart from Audrey's back injury being a "will it won't it fail" moment, there wasn't much else going on.
Given the recent revelations from real world gymnastics associations and sexual assault allegations, this book hit even harder. But what I found interesting was the framing: the story initicially focuses on the allegations against the coach but that quickly moves to background noise as the focus is pushed to the girls trying to get their big win. At first I wasn't sure about this, but the futher I read, the more it made sense. The story is about the girls rising up and achieving greatness, reclaiming their stories and therefore the narrative.
Iacopelli's passion for Gymnastics really comes through and it's clear the love she had for this story and the olympics.
However, I found the story really start to stagnate because, apart from Audrey's back injury being a "will it won't it fail" moment, there wasn't much else going on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use and Emotional abuse
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
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