I threw around many ideas, took way too long to get back to her, and I've finally decided I'm going to give you all the run-down of one of my new favorite books that I think every young woman should read: "Grace, Gold & Glory: Gabby Douglas' Autobiography".




Story synopsis: In the 2012 London Olympics, US gymnast Gabby Douglas stole hearts and flew high as the All-Around Gold Medal winner, as well as acting as a critical member of the US gold-medal-winning women gymnastics team. In this personal autobiography, Gabby tells her story of faith, perseverance, and determination, demonstrating you can reach your dreams if you let yourself soar.

Gabby's writing is honest, innocent, sweet, and inspiring.  In her autobiography she is honest about the financial situation that she and her family were in for much of her life, as well as all her gymnastic struggles.  It's harder to relate to her because she is so naturally talented and athletic and doesn't fail as much as I'd like ( :0 ), but the autobiography gives you a glimpse into her world and makes her so much more personal and human  then the TV screen ever makes her out to be! (shocker!)

What made you want to read it? There were a number of reasons.  One, I'd heard it recommended over and over.  Two, I got to watch her in the last Olympics so I knew of her and wanted to know more about her! And three, I was getting a little tired of sci-fi fantasy books and I always enjoy a good autobiography.

Did it live up to your expectations?  Yes and no.  Yes in that I knew it would inspire me, challenge me, and make me smile.  No in that I expected the writing style to be a little more professional, with not so many slang terms such as "lol", etc.

What is the subject's most admirable quality? This girl puts the P in perseverance.  Like, wow.  Her early teen years she was away from her family for years at a time just so she can continue her gymnastics training, which is crazy to me.  It's amazing how close she was to completely quitting gymnastics.

What, if anything, surprised you?  I was surprised to learn that her family held to many Jewish beliefs.  That came out a lot in the verses she shared, the meals she talked about having with her family, and her conversations with her mom.

What did you like or dislike about the book that hasn't been discussed already? At the end of each chapter she has a few paragraphs on her dad.  He has been in and out of her life for years, and she has very mixed emotions of confusion, sadness, happiness, and feeling like she wasn't good enough for him to stay.  As hard as these sections were to hear, it totally put my perspective where it should be and made me so immensely grateful for a dad who loves me and my family and would never leave us, and even more my daddy in heaven:)
All of the gymnastic terminology was a little foreign to me, so it was hard for me to appreciate her triumphs or emphasize with the scale of her failures.  I wish it had been explained a little better overall.

Were you glad you read this book? Would you recommend it to a friend?  Worth the read, and the fact that I'm doing a book review on it should probably tell you that I'd recommend it to a friend!


I rate this book 4 stars out of 5 simply because her writing style felt like it was trying a little too hard to be natural.  But that's very nit-picky of me and I really did like it. ^_^

Thanks again Hannah for letting me guest post!!!  I had a blast:)

-Chloe