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kirstenlaurencs's review against another edition
5.0
Wow what an emotionally loaded book, but a great read. You can tell the author had done her research and wrote a book with purpose and passion. While I found myself crying more than once while reading of the challenges these girls faced, I also found myself reflecting on my own life challenges and how everyone overcomes and moves forward differently. Well written, I would highly recommend.
danijoy06's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
2.25
_laurensbooks's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
as a person who was very invested in the U.S. gymnastics team and knew a girl who was also on the same olympic track as the main character, i feel like this was a great way of depicting this environment specifically, but also the teenage athlete mindset as a whole.
jena's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a deep, controversial, dark and timely read. This book mainly focuses on the controversies facing USA Gymnastics over the last few years in a fictionalized version based heavily on fact and gives a glimpse into the life of an elite gymnast. This was a hard book to swallow but so interesting and compulsive.
nattyc96's review against another edition
5.0
What was your Olympic dream growing up? I always thought something like gymnastics or figure skating would be amazing, and each Olympic year I would watch in awe (okay, but let’s be real that kind of dedication is insane, I prefered my books). “The Happiest Girl in the World” by Alena Dillon follows Sera Wheeler, gymnast and Olympic hopeful, through the ups and downs of rigorous training and the scandal that rocked the USA Gymnastics program.
Wow. This book. Dillon creates a beautiful character in the form of Sera Wheeler. Sera is flawed by desire and drive. A willingness to do almost anything to get ahead. Sera is so painfully real, that it’s almost curious how by the end I still liked her. I think that as humans we crave to see people do something amazing. To watch Sera’s dream felt worthy and satisfying, even when she was making massive mistakes.
I found it very interesting to read a fictional take on Larry Nassar from Sera’s perspective. She was close enough to feel the shock waves, without being directly involved. Dillon’s use of Sera felt like a smart move so as to not overshadow the true victims, but rather to shed light on the others involved- the people who knew what was going on and said nothing.
Overall, this book was a solid 5 stars for me. I couldn’t put it down and mentally cheered every time someone stuck a landing (someone please bring back the Olympics, I’m dying to watch impressive people do impressive things). I think there are valuable lessons about hiding dark secrets, but more importantly listening and doing something when we see wrong in the world.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! Pub day is today, be sure to check it out!
Wow. This book. Dillon creates a beautiful character in the form of Sera Wheeler. Sera is flawed by desire and drive. A willingness to do almost anything to get ahead. Sera is so painfully real, that it’s almost curious how by the end I still liked her. I think that as humans we crave to see people do something amazing. To watch Sera’s dream felt worthy and satisfying, even when she was making massive mistakes.
I found it very interesting to read a fictional take on Larry Nassar from Sera’s perspective. She was close enough to feel the shock waves, without being directly involved. Dillon’s use of Sera felt like a smart move so as to not overshadow the true victims, but rather to shed light on the others involved- the people who knew what was going on and said nothing.
Overall, this book was a solid 5 stars for me. I couldn’t put it down and mentally cheered every time someone stuck a landing (someone please bring back the Olympics, I’m dying to watch impressive people do impressive things). I think there are valuable lessons about hiding dark secrets, but more importantly listening and doing something when we see wrong in the world.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! Pub day is today, be sure to check it out!
scburhans's review against another edition
4.0
I was lucky enough to win an ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and wow am I glad I did! I'm positive that this book will become really popular!
One of the things that I loved about this book was that it NAILED the Midwestern attitude! I'm from Michigan and I cannot tell you how many times I've heard people talk EXACTLY like the people in this book do! The one Midwestern thing that I didn't see that I really wished was there was the 'ope'. If you know, you know. Dillon also nailed the dance/gymnastics/sports mom energy. As someone who did dance from the ages of 4 to 22, Dillon also perfectly showed the environment that girls is sports are put through. You are constantly in pain, and it is gory and gross and unflattering, and it does destroy your body. It's not all glitter and smiles and I was really thankful that she didn't try to make it seem like it was.
Now, the one thing that kept me from giving this book five stars is that the premise made me a little bit... uncomfortable. I fully understand that this wasn't the intention, but utilizing the Nassar scandal (well, renaming him but still using the story) kind of felt like profiting off of the pain of others. I'm absolutely positive that this isn't what Dillon meant to do and I'm sure a lot of people won't understand, but an author who wasn't involved in this scandal using it in a story just felt a little bit wrong to me. Other than that, the book was great and I really enjoyed. My copy did have quite a few typos and grammatical errors - pique instead of peak, glut instead of gut, that kind of thing - but my copy is an unedited proof so I wasn't super surprised. I'm sure we'll see this book blow up in the next few months after it's released!
Read for the 2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, Prompt: A free book from your TBR list
Read for the 2020 Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge, Prompt #36: A book with six or more words in the title
One of the things that I loved about this book was that it NAILED the Midwestern attitude! I'm from Michigan and I cannot tell you how many times I've heard people talk EXACTLY like the people in this book do! The one Midwestern thing that I didn't see that I really wished was there was the 'ope'. If you know, you know. Dillon also nailed the dance/gymnastics/sports mom energy. As someone who did dance from the ages of 4 to 22, Dillon also perfectly showed the environment that girls is sports are put through. You are constantly in pain, and it is gory and gross and unflattering, and it does destroy your body. It's not all glitter and smiles and I was really thankful that she didn't try to make it seem like it was.
Now, the one thing that kept me from giving this book five stars is that the premise made me a little bit... uncomfortable. I fully understand that this wasn't the intention, but utilizing the Nassar scandal (well, renaming him but still using the story) kind of felt like profiting off of the pain of others. I'm absolutely positive that this isn't what Dillon meant to do and I'm sure a lot of people won't understand, but an author who wasn't involved in this scandal using it in a story just felt a little bit wrong to me. Other than that, the book was great and I really enjoyed. My copy did have quite a few typos and grammatical errors - pique instead of peak, glut instead of gut, that kind of thing - but my copy is an unedited proof so I wasn't super surprised. I'm sure we'll see this book blow up in the next few months after it's released!
Read for the 2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, Prompt: A free book from your TBR list
Read for the 2020 Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge, Prompt #36: A book with six or more words in the title
danileah07's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Some books are really hard to rate. This was one of them. I ultimately decided on a 3.5, rounded down to a 3.
The Happiest Girl in the World is fiction, but in a way, it's not. It's a very realistic portrayal of the dark side of elite gymnastics. I've been a fan of the sport since the early 2000s, and despite never being a gymnast myself, I know a pretty good amount about the sport. I've watched documentaries and competitions, and have read several gymnast's memoirs and biographies over nearly two decades. Alena Dillon did a fantastic job at replicating the abusive environment that was normalized in the sport. She includes fictionalized versions of Bela & Marta Karolyi (Rudi & Vanda Balogh) and Larry Nassar (Eddie Levett) that may not be realized with regular readers, but the similarities are precise to fans of the sport... so much so that it felt chilling and haunting with the foreshadowing elements Dillon threw in.
The aspect of the book that I really disliked was that every few chapters, there would be a chapter from Sera's mom's point of view. They were jarring to the overall flow of the plot, and were largely unnecessary. I didn't feel like they added value to the storyline.
The story of the hundreds of survivors is an important one to hear. While I can tell that Dillon took great care to tell a fictionalized version, it still felt... off. It has only been a few years since Larry Nassar was sentenced to prison, so the book felt premature. There are multiple books that address the sexual abuse scandal within USA Gymnastics that I would recommend reading instead of this one, the best being What is a Girl Worth? by Rachael Denhollander.
The writing is good despite the strange placements of some flashback scenes. Dillon did a great job with portraying the world of abuse American gymnasts were subjected to, and I feel like she also did a great job with portraying the trauma responses different people in the sport went through as a result of the scandal. I just felt it was too soon for this book to have been written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship