Review: Podium Finish
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 23, 2014
I love the Olympics! And I think Olympians are amazing! When I saw this book come up for review so close to the Winter Olympics, I knew I had to read it. Harper and Alex have been roommates at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center for the past year. They've also become friends who support and rely on each other to get them through the tough days.The book switches POV between Harper and Alex. Harper is working hard to gain a starting spot on the women's hockey team and the competition is fierce. She has some friends and she has a nemesis named Jess. They have a hard time working together because they each want to shine separately. She breaks her knee one day and has to work extra hard to come back in time to play in the Olympics.Alex was a singles skater doing well until she had a bad year. Her dad wanted her to switch to ice dancing so she'd have a chance to be in the Olympics. She did, and she's now partners with Ace. Ace is a champion skater who recently split up with his dance partner, Sophie. Alex and her dad want Ace to do more interviews and be more involved in social media, but he's not interested in the fame at all. Alex does a video chat with her parents once a week and when things aren't going well, her relationship with her father is strained.This was fun to read as each girl worked hard to make it into the Olympics. There were challenges and setbacks for each of them. Harper got her first boyfriend, Rye, and she needed to figure out how to balance that relationship as well. Alex wanted to know what happened to break up Ace and Sophie's skating partnership and kept pushing him for answers. I enjoyed reading about Harper's games and Alex's competitions and the discipline they each had to continue to do their best. I felt bad when things didn't go their way and cheered them on when they were in the midst of competing. It was hard to put this book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next!I enjoyed this book and look forward to more from Beth Pond in the future! And I am now officially in the mood to watch the Olympics (too bad they don't start tomorrow)!I received a copy of this book to review. My opinion is 100% my own.