The Flip Side

Johnson, an Olympic gold-medalist gymnast and memoirist (Winning Balance), segues into fiction with this YA debut. Sophomore Charlie Ryland, who's contending for a spot on the U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics team, is keeping her athletic life a secret from her classmates: "In order to maintain some semblance of normality in my life, I perform a balancing act." That balance topples when she severely sprains her ankle while attending prom with her crush, against the wishes of her protective parents. The accident is doubly devastating, as it jeopardizes Charlie's Olympic dreams and makes public her status as an elite gymnast. Writing with Sonnichsen (Red Butterfly), Johnson offers crisp accounts of Charlie's grueling gymnastic training and physical and mental fortitude, while also credibly conveying her anguish at maintaining dual identities and her remorse at the hurt that her deceptions cause. Though there's little doubt that Charlie will stick the landing, so to speak, in the novel's exhilarating finale, readers will be drawn into her passionate devotion to both spheres of her life. Ages 12-up. Agent: Jennifer Keene, Octagon. (June)

Gr 7 Up--Olympic medalist Johnson makes her YA debut with a romance novel about a young gymnast trying to balance her dream of obtaining an Olympic gold medal with her burning desire to be a "normal" teenager. Charlie Ryland lives a double life--as Charlie, she's a serious contender, just one trial away from making the Olympic team. As Charlotte, she attends classes at a high school where no one knows who she is. She's been doing this for four years, but things come to a head right before her final Olympic qualifier, when she winds up serving as temporary secretary in the student government alongside champion wrestler and all-around good guy Bobby Singh. Johnson gives readers a sweet, conventional romance--one predictably heavy on high school drama and surprisingly light on the gymnastics. Details about training, moves, and the basic routines of an elite gymnast are frequently skimmed over, robbing the story of what could have been something special. Charlotte is a likable narrator, though, and her strong desire for privacy and normalcy in a far from normal existence makes her sympathetic. This work, despite its occasional lapses into some noticeably wooden prose and dialogue, moves well, and romance fans seeking a quick fix will speed right through. VERDICT A good addition to any library looking to expand its romance section.--Bobbi Parry, East Baton Rouge Parish School System, LA