About The Book
Written by Jennifer Iacopelli
Published by Hachette Australia
Add Break The Fall to Goodreads
Review copy courtesy of Publisher
★★★★
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.
Tash's Thoughts:
Before I even start this book I want to put
it out there. There is a trigger in this
book.
Trigger
Warning: This book deals with Sexual Abuse
Iacopelli’s trad debut tells the story of
Audrey Lee, a seventeen-year-old gymnast who is about to make the fairy tale
comeback complete with a ticket to Olympics. Instead of being a time of
celebration and comradeship. The team
is ripped apart by the unthinkable which
leads to a team divided.
And Audrey is stuck in the middle of all of
it.
Imagine Stick
It was a book but instead of just a gymnast seeking a second chance at
glory. There is much more at stake. A
future that is been determined by someone else actions not your own. Break
the Fall is much more than about a girl going for Gold and achieving her dream. Very quickly the
situation unfolds that leads to a team divided. Just as it seems Audrey is
getting her life together again after her come back. Life gives the hardball
of a lifetime just when Audrey was about to have it all.
From
very first chapter there is a quality to Audrey that she doesn’t
even herself realise until towards the end. It’s obvious through her
interactions with everyone she comes to
into contact with. Aubrey took the
news well even though it pretty much nearly destroyed everything she worked for
and she was about to have.
Overall the sexual abuse was handled well
given these girls in the book were all teenagers still.
It’s raw about the topic but isn’t confronting graphically. I think the way the author chooses to handle this
topic spoke volumes of what young girls can achieve given the right
resources and support. The last few chapters were my favourite part
of this book as it really showed the true strength of women in numbers
and how women can change the world for
better.
I didn’t know where I stood with this book
until those chapters. It was clear that Audrey
was strong throughout the book even when it meant going against her peers. Whilst this story is
fictional , there is some parallels with a story that hit the world last
year. I don’t know about the time but
this book help understands that situation.
The author seems to be involved in
the gymnast community and made
this accurate as possible with sport side of things. It made it enjoyable as
someone who loves watching gymnast and cheer which shares some similarities.
I feel it was a bit heavy hand dealing with
the fallout from the minor characters. I expected the response from the people
who were directly involved in the
situation. Then nothing would have prepared for the fall that happened after the
unthinkable happened. Audrey handled it
well considering all things and the fact she had her own personal issues to
deal with. Being a pro sportswoman isn’t easy and there were times I felt sorry for her even
though it would perfectly reasonable demand given the situation. Break the Fall is hopefully not the last we
hear from Iacopelli as she knows how to turn something negative into positive
and provided encouragement for young people today.
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About The Author
Jennifer Iacopelli was born in New York and has no plans to leave, ever. Growing up, she read everything she could get her hands on, but her favorite authors were L.M. Montgomery and Frances Hodgson Burnett, both of whom wrote about kick-butt girls before it was cool for girls to be kick-butt. As a high school librarian, she frolics all day with her students, books and computers and writes at night while cheering on her beloved Yankees.
I would have loved to read this book! Great review!
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