Gold Medal Winter by Donna Freitas (review)

Unexpected joy comes to fifteen-year-old Esperanza Flores when she wins a place on the Olympic figure-skating team after a leading competitor injures herself too badly to go. Espi may be an underdog, but she and her coach are determined that she can be a real threat if she perfects her quadruple salchow, a jump never landed by a female figure skater at the Olympics. She’s daunted, however, by the bullying of the other members of the team, who resent Espi’s displacement of their former teammate; she’s also floored by the media circus and intrigued by the attentions of two young male Olympians, one a famous figure skater and the other a quiet hockey player. Can she keep her focus to become the first Dominican-American skater to medal at the Olympics? The answer will surprise absolutely no one, as will the discovery that the famous male figure skater is a shallow player and that the quiet hockey player is the guy for her; indeed, there’s a generic flavor throughout as Espi triumphs against all obstacles—so generic, in fact, that the location of the actual Olympics is never actually given. The story is, however, sweet and innocent, with Espi reading much younger than fifteen (and the portrait of the Olympic Village thoroughly sanitized), and the details of skating practice, morning television appearances, and Vera Wang costumes are fresh and specific enough to advance the wish-fulfillment. Armchair ice princesses looking for a sports fairy tale will likely overlook the book’s weaknesses and find it a cozy accompaniment to the Winter Olympics.