Review: Winning Team by Dominique Moceanu and Alicia Thompson

Winning Team by Dominique Moceanu and Alicia Thompson. Book One of The Go-For-Gold Gymnasts Series.

Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: April 2012
List Price: $5.99
ISBN-13: 9781423136330

Review: Did you ever have to move far away from what you called home? Or start fresh in everything? Well, that is what happens in Winning Team to the main character, Brittany Lee Morgan. This book, Winning Team, is written by Dominique Moceanu (an actual Olympic Gold medalist) and Alicia Thompson. It is first in the new The GO-FOR-GOLD Gymnasts series. The main character, Britt, is an Elite gymnast in Ohio. But then, her entire family moves to Texas just for her to train at a world class facility with the Texas Twisters team. The girls on the team, Christina, Noelle, and Jessie, are getting along fine and practicing well at the gym until Britt arrives. Conflicts arise when Britt comes along, especially when she can do moves that none of the other girls can do yet. But, when they try to sort things out, the relationships get messed up even more. Can these four girls get over the yelling, crying, and overall drama, to grow stronger as a team?

The characters are so believable; they are normal people, under a lot of pressure. Even though I'm not a gymnast, I could still relate to this story, as an athlete and a kid. The gymnastics gym, the girls' houses, the mom's day care, and the competition are all described in fabulous detail. The setting description makes me feel like I'm there with them. As far as suspense, when Britt is practicing her acrobatic moves on beam unsupervised, Noelle can tell trouble is coming. She says, "You will get into huge trouble, and I don't want to be dragged into it with you." I most definitely would read this book again because it really drew me in. Winning Team really, truly, deserves 5 stars for its drama, action, suspense, and overall unique story. I loved it! I cannot wait to read the next book in the series, called Balancing Act!

Review written by Ali (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Disney Publishing Worldwide for providing a copy of Winning Team for this review.

Have you read Winning Team? How would you rate it?