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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved it. Fantastic characters, believable story and very well told.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Summer 2024 challenge - Olympic tie-in:
It was a well-written story and it surprised me, but I didn’t love it. Maybe it was too hard to connect with the characters.
It was a well-written story and it surprised me, but I didn’t love it. Maybe it was too hard to connect with the characters.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
tense
This was an enjoyable & easy read that gives some insight into the training regime, sacrifices, & competitive mindset of Olympic champions. Zoe & Kate are the number 1 & 2 ranked sprint cyclists in Britain. They have been fierce rivals & friends for over 10 years. Much of the story takes place in the lead-up to the London Olympics, their last chance for Olympic glory. The plot also takes us back to when the girls first met and we learn of the personal history between them which is tricky and has impacted on their achievements and relationships, thus far. Definitely a 3.5*.
I’m not even sure If i actually love this book but i think it will stay with me for a long time. I hate when characters have my kids’ names and they’re terrible people. But. The author did an excellent job of character development so you can’t fully hate any of the characters .
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was blown away by Little Bee and Everyone Brave Is Forgiven. Sadly, this novel is nowhere near the same caliber. The writing is pretty good, if overwrought at times, but there’s too much implausible drama. You could imagine the characters on Jerry Springer.
Zoe and Kate are Olympic-standard cyclists, rivals on the track, and for the affections of Jack, another Olympic cyclist. Tom is their coach. Sophie, Kate and Jack's little daughter, is suffering from her second bout of leukaemia. Will Zoe or Kate make it to the London Olympics? Will Sophie die? Will Zoe self-destruct? This tear-jerking story chronicles the dedication, the obsession, and the reality behind sporting success.
It is told in the past tense and in the third person from the shifting narrative viewpoint of each of the five main characters. The author has clearly done a huge amount of research (sometimes it showed) both into cycling and leukaemia. The plot is carefully structured with some nice foreshadowing. There is a certain sense of artificiality about the way the characters have been opposed: Zoe (a very extreme character) and Kate are opposite sides of a coin, Tom is the stereotypical wise old man, Jack the flip-flopping husband. Nevertheless, it was genuinely tense and I did not know which way the plot was going to twist and there were two occasions when I really had a lump in my throat and any writing powerful enough to move this cynical old critic must have something. It punched. Otherwise, it was very much in the mainstream of contemporary novels.
My overall reaction is that it is a great page-turning novel creating genuine emotional involvement so I can't deny it five stars but there was a slight feeling of disappointment that there wasn't something a little bit more to it. I'm hard to please!
It is told in the past tense and in the third person from the shifting narrative viewpoint of each of the five main characters. The author has clearly done a huge amount of research (sometimes it showed) both into cycling and leukaemia. The plot is carefully structured with some nice foreshadowing. There is a certain sense of artificiality about the way the characters have been opposed: Zoe (a very extreme character) and Kate are opposite sides of a coin, Tom is the stereotypical wise old man, Jack the flip-flopping husband. Nevertheless, it was genuinely tense and I did not know which way the plot was going to twist and there were two occasions when I really had a lump in my throat and any writing powerful enough to move this cynical old critic must have something. It punched. Otherwise, it was very much in the mainstream of contemporary novels.
My overall reaction is that it is a great page-turning novel creating genuine emotional involvement so I can't deny it five stars but there was a slight feeling of disappointment that there wasn't something a little bit more to it. I'm hard to please!
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced