112 ratings | 12 reviews | avg rating:4.46

Jennifer’s Year In Books

Jennifer’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Jennifer’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Jennifer Starzec’s Followers (9)

Jennifer’s Bookshelves

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currently-reading (4)
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favorites (8)

Jennifer’s Friends (31)

Megan Placko-Carrera

253 books | 22 friends

Charlotte S

374 books | 32 friends

Hannah Li

109 books | 22 friends

Harrison

265 books | 10 friends

Danielle Plater

394 books | 17 friends

Jaime Gray

515 books | 15 friends

Ava

871 books | 54 friends

Jolie

53 books | 6 friends

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Jennifer Starzec

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.5kballet.com

Twitter

jenstarzec

Genre

Memoir, Young Adult, Nonfiction

Influences

Riva Lehrer, Patricia Reilly Giff, Rick Riordan, Jacqueline Woodso ...more

Member Since

July 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jen_star

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Jennifer (Jen) Starzec writes about her experiences living with a physical disability after being suddenly paralyzed by Transverse Myelitis at age 13. She is the co-author of three memoirs with Sarah Todd Hammer about their disability experiences: 5k, Ballet, and a Spinal Cord Injury (2013); Determination (2016); and Up and Down (2018).
Jen is from the Chicago suburbs and is currently a graduate student at the University of Illinois, where she is studying speech-language pathology.

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Jennifer Starzec’s books

Average rating: 4.75 · 32 ratings · 3 reviews · 4 distinct works

	5k, Ballet, and a Spinal Cord Injury (5k, Ballet, #1) by Jennifer Starzec (Goodreads Author), Sarah Todd Hammer (Goodreads Author), Umaiyal Sridas (Illustrator) 4.69 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Determination (5k, Ballet, #2) by Sarah Todd Hammer (Goodreads Author), Jennifer Starzec (Goodreads Author) 4.89 avg rating — 9 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Up and Down (5k, Ballet, #3) by Sarah Todd Hammer (Goodreads Author), Jennifer Starzec (Goodreads Author) 4.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Benny The Runt Banana: Collection One 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Jennifer is Currently Reading

Jennifer Starzec is currently reading

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)

by Tamsyn Muir (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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May 13, 2024 06:24PM

Jennifer Starzec is currently reading

I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities, and Other Stuff

by Abbi Jacobson

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Mar 01, 2023 01:09PM

Jennifer Starzec is currently reading

Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation

by Eli Clare (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jan 04, 2022 10:44AM

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Jennifer’s Recent Updates

Jennifer Starzec wants to read Andromeda by E.S. McLeod (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 05:15PM · like
Jennifer Starzec wants to read Jackson Alone by Jose Ando	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 05:13PM · like
Jennifer Starzec wants to read How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 05:12PM · like
Jennifer Starzec wants to read Cabaret in Flames by Hache Pueyo (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 05:07PM · like
Jennifer Starzec wants to read Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 05:06PM · like
Jennifer Starzec wants to read The Divine Gardener's Handbook: Or What To Do If Your Girlfriend Accidentally Turns Off the Sun by Eli Snow (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 05:03PM · like
Jennifer Starzec wants to read Witch of the Shadow Wood by Tori Anne Martin (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 05:02PM · like
Jennifer Starzec wants to read Love Galaxy (The Imperial Broadcasts, #1) by Sierra Branham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 05:00PM · like
Jennifer Starzec wants to read The Bloodweaver (The Weaver Saga, #1) by C. N. Kuster (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 04:55PM · like
Jennifer Starzec wants to read The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 02, 2026 04:54PM · like

More of Jennifer's books…

Quotes by Jennifer Starzec (?)

“I often wished that more people understood the invisible side of things. Even the people who seemed to understand, didn't really.”
― Jennifer Starzec, Determination

tags: chronic-illness, chronic-pain, dance, disability, fatigue, inspirational, invisible-illness, motivational, myelitis, neuropathy, paralysis, rare-disease, run, sci, spinal-cord-injury, tm, transverse-myelitis

63 likes

“People who don't see you every day have a hard time understanding how on some days--good days--you can run three miles, but can barely walk across the parking lot on other days,' [my mom] said quietly.”
― Jennifer Starzec, Determination

tags: chronic-illness, chronic-pain, dance, disability, fatigue, inspirational, invisible-illness, motivational, myelitis, neuropathy, paralysis, run, tm, transverse-myelitis

54 likes

“Nothing worked. This blazing pain seemed only to be getting worse.”
― Jennifer Starzec

tags: chronic-illness, hopeless, illness, inspirational, life, pain

6 likes

See all Jennifer Starzec's quotes »

Jennifer’s Quotes

“Everyone has adventures in their lives. Some good ones, some bad ones.”
― Sarah Todd Hammer

tags: adventures, difficult-times, difficulties, good-attitude, inspirational, inspirational-life, life-experience, ups-and-downs

0 likes

“I was eight years old and scared, and had no idea what was going on”
― Sarah Todd Hammer

tags: child, hardship, inspirational, life, motivational, scared

1 likes

“I was scared...and did not know what was coming for me next.”
― Sarah Todd Hammer

tags: child, hospital, illness, inspirational, scared

1 likes

“Nothing worked. This blazing pain seemed only to be getting worse.”
― Jennifer Starzec

tags: chronic-illness, hopeless, illness, inspirational, life, pain

6 likes

“What if...the doctors couldn't find anything wrong? What if I was over-exaggerating the pain, weakness, and weird sensations?”
― Jennifer Starzec

Jennifer’s Year In Books

Jennifer Starzec’s Followers (9)

Jennifer’s Bookshelves

Jennifer’s Friends (31)

Jennifer Starzec

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