Long-limbed, red-haired Jessie might be the quiet girl on the Texas Twisters, but she's a force to be reckoned with where it counts—on the vault and in her heart. With freshman year on the horizon, Jesse decides that it’s time to stop hiding in the shadow of her teammates and do the last thing anyone expects: join the cheerleading squad. Jessie proves that her gymnastic skills make her a perfect fit for the team, and becoming friends with the team captain makes Jessie feel like people care about her, and not just her talent. /DIV DIVBut with cheer practice suddenly taking up all of her spare time, Jessie barely gets the chance to see her fellow gymnasts. Can Jessie bridge the gap between her new teammates and old friends? Or will she have to pick between being a cheerleader and being a gymnast? Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu and Alicia Thompson present The Go-for-Gold Gymnasts, a fliptastic series full of heart, humor, and spirit! Follow the four girls as they navigate the world of competitive gymnastics, try to balance their passion with normal lives, and learn to believe in the power of friendship.

The true story of the 1986 U.S. National Gymnastics champion whose lifelong dream was to compete in the Olympics, until anorexia, injuries, and coaching abuses nearly destroyed her Fanciful dreams of gold medals and Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to become a gymnast at the age of six. She was a natural at the sport, and her early success propelled her family to sacrifice everything to help her become, by age eleven, one of America’s elite,competing at prestigious events worldwide alongside such future gymnastics’ luminaries as Mary Lou Retton. But as she set her sights higher and higher—the senior national team, the World Championships, the 1988 Olympics—Sey began to change, putting her needs, her health, and her well-being aside in the name of winning. And the adults in her life refused to notice her downward spiral. In Chalked Up Sey reveals the tarnish behind her gold medals. A powerful portrait of intensity and drive, eating disorders and stage parents, abusive coaches and manipulative businessmen, denial and the seduction of success, it is the story of a young girl whose dreams would become eclipsed by the adults around her. As she recounts her experiences, Sey sheds light on the destructiveness of our winning-is-everything culture where underage and underweight girls are celebrated and on the need for balance in children’s lives.

A gymnastics novel to flip for! Joey Jordan loves gymnastics: the thrill of performing a backflip on the beam, the cheers of the audience when she sticks a landing. But even with all her talent and style, she's never quite made it to that gold medal stand.Now big changes shake up Joey's life in and out of the gym. Joey wants to break out some daring new beam and floor routines--but she'll have to defy her strict coach to do it. Her best friend, Alex, is thinking about quitting gymnastics for good. And an old friend named Tanner just moved back to town, and he's suddenly gotten very, very cute. Can Joey handle all the challenges coming her way, and make her gold medal summer happen at last? Drawing on her real-life experience as a competitive gymnast, acclaimed novelist Donna Freitas delivers both a terrific gymnastics story and a classic novel about stretching some limits, bending the rules, and finding your balance.

Twelve-year-old Brittany Lee Morgan is the best. Or, at least she was at her gymnastics training gym in Ohio. But when her family moves to Texas for a world-class facility, Britt is suddenly a zero in the eyes of her new teammates. The other girls—graceful Christina, perfect Noelle, and quiet Jessie—aren’t exactly excited by the arrival of the pint-sized powerhouse. Especially since Britt has a way of saying the wrong thing at all the wrong times. But, Britt's not scared of a challenge: she’s an Elite Gymnast, and she didn’t get there without taking some major risks. She's determined to become friends with the other Texas Twisters, whether they want her to or not.

Using the skills you've learned so far in Introduction to Psychology, please write a brief self-assessment describing how things are going in your freshman year. Presenting Concerns: The Patient, Leigh Nolan (that would be me), has just started her first year at Stiles College. She has decided to major in psychology (even though her parents would rather she study Tarot cards, not Rorschach blots). Patient has always been very good at helping her friends with their problems, but when it comes to solving her own . . . not so much. Patient has a tendency to overanalyze things, particularly when the opposite sex is involved. Like why doesn't Andrew, her boyfriend of over a year, ever invite her to spend the night? Or why can't she commit to taking the next step in their relationship? And why does his roommate Nathan dislike her so much? More importantly, why did Nathan have a starring role in a much-more-than-friendly dream? Aggravating factors include hyper-competitive fellow psych majors, a professor who's badly in need of her own psychoanalysis, and mentoring a middle-school-aged girl who thinks Patient is, in a word, naive. Diagnosis: Psych Major Syndrome

In this searing and riveting New York Times bestseller, Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu reveals the dark underbelly of Olympic gymnastics, the true price of success…and the shocking secret about her past and her family that she only learned years later. At fourteen years old, Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of the 1996 US Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team, the first and only American women’s team to take gold at the Olympics. Her pixyish appearance and ferocious competitive drive quickly earned her the status of media darling. But behind the fame, the flawless floor routines, and the million-dollar smile, her life was a series of challenges and hardships. Off Balance vividly delineates each of the dominating characters who contributed to Moceanu’s rise to the top, from her stubborn father and long-suffering mother to her mercurial coach, Bela Karolyi. Here, Moceanu finally shares the haunting stories of competition, her years of hiding injuries and pain out of fear of retribution from her coaches, and how she hit rock bottom after a public battle with her parents. But medals, murder plots, drugs, and daring escapes aside (all of which figure into Moceanu’s incredible journey), the most unique aspect of her life is the family secret that Moceanu discovers, opening a new and unexpected chapter in her adult life. A mysterious letter from a stranger reveals that she has a second sister—born with a physical disability and given away at birth—who has nonetheless followed in Moceanu’s footsteps in an astonishing way. A multilayered memoir that transcends the world of sports, Off Balance will touch anyone who has ever dared to dream of a better life.

Christina has waited her whole life to make it big. And now she’s ready—to be the star of the Texas Twisters, on her way to becoming the first Junior Elite all-around champion at the American Invitational. The pressure is on, and there’s no turning back. But practice takes a turn for the worse when Christina lands her vault routine with a sharp pain in her ankle; it’s clear that she’s been pushing herself a little too hard./DIV A forced break from gymnastics is not what Christina had in mind with the biggest competition of her life coming up. Her whole world revolves around the gym, but now she’s not sure what to focus on. Hanging out with the other Twisters—best friend Noelle, spunky Britt and caring Jessie—isn't the same when she’s not totally part of the team. The only person who seems to understand is Mihai, Noelle's older brother. But boys are the last thing Christina should be thinking about if she wants to get back into peak condition, right? DIVOlympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu and Alicia Thompson present The Go-for-Gold Gymnasts, a fliptastic series full of heart, humor, and spirit! Follow the four girls as they navigate the world of competitive gymnastics, try to balance their passion with normal lives, and learn to believe in the power of friendship.

Britt's just moved to Texas to train at a super competitive gym - can she live up to expectations?

A sports reporter investigates the training of girls as professional gymnasts and figure skaters, arguing that the pressure to succeed and to look beautiful results in mental and physical harm, from eating disorders to psychological trauma.

Discover Aly Raisman's inspiring story of dedication, perseverance, and learning to think positively even in the toughest times on her path to gold medal success in two Olympic Games—and beyond. Aly Raisman first stepped onto a gymnastics mat as a toddler in a "mommy & me" gymnastics class. No one could have predicted then that sixteen years later, she'd be standing on an Olympic podium, having achieved her dreams. Aly's road to success was full of hard work, perseverance, and victories, but not without its hardships. Aly faced many obstacles, from naysayers who said she'd never make it in gymnastics to classmates who shamed her for her athletic body to a devastating betrayal of trust. Through it all, Aly surrounded herself with supportive family, friends, and teammates and found the inner strength to remain positive and believe in herself. Now, in her own words, Aly shows what it takes to be a champion on and off the floor, and takes readers on a behind-the-scenes journey before, during, and after her remarkable achievements in two Olympic Games--through her highest highs, lowest lows, and all the moments in between. Honest and heartfelt, frank and funny, Aly's story is enhanced with never-before-published photos, excerpts from the personal journals she's kept since childhood that chronicle memorable moments with her teammates, and hard-won advice for readers striving to rise above challenges, learn to love themselves, and make their own dreams come true.