What do you think?
Rate this book
Winner Takes Gold
Young gymnast, Pearl, dreams of winning gold in Paris.
It’s what Mum would have wanted.
However, elite training camp is super tough,
even with the help of best friend, Ryan, and rising star, Jada-Rae.
Think icebaths, rivalry and ... sabotage!
When others will do anything to win, what will Pearl risk?
Injury? Morals? Friendship?
This thrilling tale reminds us sport is about more than medals.
It's about making friends, being brave and setting your soul free.
- An all-action sporting mystery
- Full of friendships, drama & action
- For ages 9+
It’s what Mum would have wanted.
However, elite training camp is super tough,
even with the help of best friend, Ryan, and rising star, Jada-Rae.
Think icebaths, rivalry and ... sabotage!
When others will do anything to win, what will Pearl risk?
Injury? Morals? Friendship?
This thrilling tale reminds us sport is about more than medals.
It's about making friends, being brave and setting your soul free.
- An all-action sporting mystery
- Full of friendships, drama & action
- For ages 9+
320 pages, Paperback
Published January 4, 2024
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Eloise Smith
3 books6 followersIn my former lives I’ve been an Olympian, triple Commonwealth fencing gold medallist, Oxford English graduate and award-winning executive creative director in advertising. Now I’m a children’s author, following my wildest dream of all . . .
My first book draws on my experiences in fencing and film sets: Sister To A Star is a thrilling mystery about warring twins in a swash-buckling Hollywood movie. My second book uses my understanding of high-level sport: Winner Takes Gold is a gripping adventure about sabotage on an elite gymnastics camp.
In my spare time I relax by skiing, climbing, running and yoga. All while raising two boys who bring me more joy than all my dreams put together.
My first book draws on my experiences in fencing and film sets: Sister To A Star is a thrilling mystery about warring twins in a swash-buckling Hollywood movie. My second book uses my understanding of high-level sport: Winner Takes Gold is a gripping adventure about sabotage on an elite gymnastics camp.
In my spare time I relax by skiing, climbing, running and yoga. All while raising two boys who bring me more joy than all my dreams put together.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 11, 2024
This is such a compelling story about friendship, rivalry, courage and bravery with an important message that morals are more important than medals. The prose was enjoyable to read and I appreciated all the details of the gymnastic routines. I think this would definitely appeal to young athletes, gymnasts and fans of middle-grade mysteries. Although I had my theories as I read along, I was kept guessing until the end!
Read
March 9, 2024This is not the sort of book I would normally pick but I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to read it.
This is the story of Pearl, who lives and breathes gymnastics. After all it’s in her blood - her mum was a GB gymnast! Pearl is gymnastic medal hopeful seeking to represent Great Britain and make her recently passed mother proud. As Pearl and her friend Ryan make it to Leaping Spires, where the elite gymnasts train, she soon realises that someone is willing to do absolutely anything to achieve their dream - even if that means removing their competition. A series of accidents occur which spike the children’s curiosity - could there really be a saboteur among them?
I don’t know very much about gymnastics but it didn’t really matter reading this book, the details are woven in seamlessly but it’s the story of friendship that is the real star of the book. The message that friendship is more important than medals shines through as Pearl and Ryan navigate this new environment they find themselves in. The story is fast paced and full of tension - I loved it!
This is the story of Pearl, who lives and breathes gymnastics. After all it’s in her blood - her mum was a GB gymnast! Pearl is gymnastic medal hopeful seeking to represent Great Britain and make her recently passed mother proud. As Pearl and her friend Ryan make it to Leaping Spires, where the elite gymnasts train, she soon realises that someone is willing to do absolutely anything to achieve their dream - even if that means removing their competition. A series of accidents occur which spike the children’s curiosity - could there really be a saboteur among them?
I don’t know very much about gymnastics but it didn’t really matter reading this book, the details are woven in seamlessly but it’s the story of friendship that is the real star of the book. The message that friendship is more important than medals shines through as Pearl and Ryan navigate this new environment they find themselves in. The story is fast paced and full of tension - I loved it!
September 9, 2024
I received this book from the author in exchange of an honest review.
First up a big big thank you to the author for the great format of the book! I am always a bit worried about ebooks, even epubs or mobis can look terrible, but this one was just perfectly formatted! Thank you!
🥰 Pearl (such a lovely name) was such a sweet, fun character and I love seeing her grow, find a way in her loss, dare more things in gymnastics (but also find a balance in it because you don’t want to go overboard), make new friends and discover new things in life. She was so cool and such an inspiration.
🥰 The mystery was both exciting, scary, and awesome. And I just loved seeing our MC (and a bit of Ryan) try to figure things out and see who was doing what. There are many twists and turns, some red herrings, and there are many moments that had me go OMG! I loved the sleuthing!
🥰 The perfect balance between high-tension gotta get better in gymnastics and the sleuthing. Sometimes one overpowers the other but not here. It was fun to read about both and both get the right amount of spotlight!
🥰 I loved the various characters we meet in the story and read more about them, find out more about what their motivations are and more.
🥰 See the dad try to figure things out and also try to accept that his daughter wants to do gymnastics which was a big part of his late wife’s life.
🥰 I loved that we got to see a bit before the camp, then at the camp, and then also the Olympics! Now I seriously want to watch the Olympics some more for some gymnastics!
🥰 While the camp and how far things went shocked me, I was kinda curious about it as well and see all the things they organised, the trainings, see what happens when the team is selected for the Olympics, see outfits being chosen, and more.
🥰 The gymnastics, such a big part, were wonderfully written and it was as if I was there seeing the kids do all their exercises! I just loved reading them so much and I was curious to see what kind of new moves the kids would make in each new week/competition.
🥰 I really liked Ryan’s mom. She was so sweet and kind and I loved how much she was there for Pearl as well. Oh, and that hint at the end? Oh yes! I was hoping for that. Teehee.
🥰 The writing style was so fun and the book had great pacing. It took me a bit longer to read, but that was because my mind is just all over the place lately and sometimes I just needed something without too much words, haha. I think if my mind was in the right place I would have easily finished this one in one sitting. It was just that fun/good.
😲 I was actually shocked at how far these kids were pushed and I found it quite toxic and shocking. The various exercises they had to do, like one that included some kind of rope climbing but dangerous. Pitting the kids against each other. Strict times in everything. Competitions. And much more. At times I was like, is this all legal????
🤔 I wasn’t a fan of Ryan. Not at all. There were a few moments that I appreciated him, but for a lot of the time I just wanted him gone. I didn’t get his jealousy, how he wasn’t happy when our MC tried harder moves because she DID want to advance to higher levels, didn’t really understand how he got any further given how it was constantly mentioned that he kept to basic moves and this is an elite camp/contest.
🤔 While it was sad, I just wasn’t happy with the addition of COVID. It is just TOO SOON. Way TOO SOON. Maybe in like 40 years it will be fine (can’t think of that as fine, but sure), but now, NO.
😡 I almost YEETED my Kindle in the wall because of what happened at the Olympics part. I get that there are rules, but WHAT THE ACTUAL…
All in all, I am really happy I got the chance to read this book (finally I must add as I have been eyeing this book for a while) and I would recommend it to everyone. It is a perfect book with the Olympics coming up soon!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
First up a big big thank you to the author for the great format of the book! I am always a bit worried about ebooks, even epubs or mobis can look terrible, but this one was just perfectly formatted! Thank you!
🥰 Pearl (such a lovely name) was such a sweet, fun character and I love seeing her grow, find a way in her loss, dare more things in gymnastics (but also find a balance in it because you don’t want to go overboard), make new friends and discover new things in life. She was so cool and such an inspiration.
🥰 The mystery was both exciting, scary, and awesome. And I just loved seeing our MC (and a bit of Ryan) try to figure things out and see who was doing what. There are many twists and turns, some red herrings, and there are many moments that had me go OMG! I loved the sleuthing!
🥰 The perfect balance between high-tension gotta get better in gymnastics and the sleuthing. Sometimes one overpowers the other but not here. It was fun to read about both and both get the right amount of spotlight!
🥰 I loved the various characters we meet in the story and read more about them, find out more about what their motivations are and more.
🥰 See the dad try to figure things out and also try to accept that his daughter wants to do gymnastics which was a big part of his late wife’s life.
🥰 I loved that we got to see a bit before the camp, then at the camp, and then also the Olympics! Now I seriously want to watch the Olympics some more for some gymnastics!
🥰 While the camp and how far things went shocked me, I was kinda curious about it as well and see all the things they organised, the trainings, see what happens when the team is selected for the Olympics, see outfits being chosen, and more.
🥰 The gymnastics, such a big part, were wonderfully written and it was as if I was there seeing the kids do all their exercises! I just loved reading them so much and I was curious to see what kind of new moves the kids would make in each new week/competition.
🥰 I really liked Ryan’s mom. She was so sweet and kind and I loved how much she was there for Pearl as well. Oh, and that hint at the end? Oh yes! I was hoping for that. Teehee.
🥰 The writing style was so fun and the book had great pacing. It took me a bit longer to read, but that was because my mind is just all over the place lately and sometimes I just needed something without too much words, haha. I think if my mind was in the right place I would have easily finished this one in one sitting. It was just that fun/good.
😲 I was actually shocked at how far these kids were pushed and I found it quite toxic and shocking. The various exercises they had to do, like one that included some kind of rope climbing but dangerous. Pitting the kids against each other. Strict times in everything. Competitions. And much more. At times I was like, is this all legal????
🤔 I wasn’t a fan of Ryan. Not at all. There were a few moments that I appreciated him, but for a lot of the time I just wanted him gone. I didn’t get his jealousy, how he wasn’t happy when our MC tried harder moves because she DID want to advance to higher levels, didn’t really understand how he got any further given how it was constantly mentioned that he kept to basic moves and this is an elite camp/contest.
🤔 While it was sad, I just wasn’t happy with the addition of COVID. It is just TOO SOON. Way TOO SOON. Maybe in like 40 years it will be fine (can’t think of that as fine, but sure), but now, NO.
😡 I almost YEETED my Kindle in the wall because of what happened at the Olympics part. I get that there are rules, but WHAT THE ACTUAL…
All in all, I am really happy I got the chance to read this book (finally I must add as I have been eyeing this book for a while) and I would recommend it to everyone. It is a perfect book with the Olympics coming up soon!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
February 20, 2024
With the Paris Olympics due to take place this summer, Winner Takes Gold by Eloise Smith is the perfect title to entertain young sports fans. Eloise has wealth of first-hand knowledge being a former Olympian herself.
The story centres on Pearl Bolton, an aspiring gymnastic champion, who dedicates nearly every waking hour to training. As well as loving the sport, gymnastics are in her blood as it keeps her close to the memory of her Sports Coach mum who sadly passed away during Covid.
When Pearl gets the chance to train at the coveted Leaping Spires National Gymnastic Centre for a place on the GB Mini Elite team, she is over the moon. But when she discovers there is more than competative spirit between her team mates and that there is someone willing to sabotage the young athletes chances of success, she vows to find the culprit.
Eloise has a very easy to read, writing style. Each page is packed with entertaining gymnastic details, with the added mystery of the sabateur moving the plot along at a pace that makes you want to keep reading.
I enjoyed the relationships between the characters and the way they interacted, and although I would say this would be a book that would mainly interest girls, the addition of Ryan and Hamish as competing gymnasts gave some insight into the sport from the boys perspective.
Even if you know nothing about this area of sport, Eloise weaves her knowledge through this story of friendship, determination and mystery to make this a really enjoyable, fun and exciting read, full of tension and cleverly written emotion.
A recommended tale where morals, courage and friendships often mean more than medals.
Thanks Eloise for the chance to read this book.
The story centres on Pearl Bolton, an aspiring gymnastic champion, who dedicates nearly every waking hour to training. As well as loving the sport, gymnastics are in her blood as it keeps her close to the memory of her Sports Coach mum who sadly passed away during Covid.
When Pearl gets the chance to train at the coveted Leaping Spires National Gymnastic Centre for a place on the GB Mini Elite team, she is over the moon. But when she discovers there is more than competative spirit between her team mates and that there is someone willing to sabotage the young athletes chances of success, she vows to find the culprit.
Eloise has a very easy to read, writing style. Each page is packed with entertaining gymnastic details, with the added mystery of the sabateur moving the plot along at a pace that makes you want to keep reading.
I enjoyed the relationships between the characters and the way they interacted, and although I would say this would be a book that would mainly interest girls, the addition of Ryan and Hamish as competing gymnasts gave some insight into the sport from the boys perspective.
Even if you know nothing about this area of sport, Eloise weaves her knowledge through this story of friendship, determination and mystery to make this a really enjoyable, fun and exciting read, full of tension and cleverly written emotion.
A recommended tale where morals, courage and friendships often mean more than medals.
Thanks Eloise for the chance to read this book.
March 19, 2024
Liked this.
March 1, 2025
This is a cute story, but it seems like the author did no actual gymnastics research. Moves are described that don’t exist or are never referred to as such, in ways that make no sense. And the “notoriously hard” and risky dismount invented by the coach character is just a double twist off the beam, which is common as mud and something that young gymnasts with zero elite aspirations are doing with no problem.
(For example—a double-front handspring layout? Is that two front handsprings and a front layout? If so, why has the allegedly very talented MC never done this when those are all very elementary skills, and why is it portrayed as the only way to get high enough in the air when back handsprings give you exponentially more momentum? On the uneven bars, a “backwards straddle roll” from reverse grip, which is mentioned repeatedly, is not a move that exists. The closest thing I can think of is a Jaeger, which is a single-bar release, not a transition to the low bar, and functions nothing like described. Why is the main character's back walkover on the beam given such focus when this is taught to young kids at beginner levels, and immediately abandoned once they learn harder skills? And so on.)
The mystery storyline is nicely done, but the obvious gymnastics errors take you out of the story. My younger sister, a twelve-year-old gymnast whom I planned to gift this to, said they made her laugh, so at least it doesn't fully diminish the reading experience?
I respect that the author was an actual Olympian, but in my opinion if you’re going to write a novel about about gymnastics, you should actually research gymnastics! I learned more about gymnastics (before my sister started the sport) from watching the Olympics and doing some casual reading of forums than is evident in this entire book.
(For example—a double-front handspring layout? Is that two front handsprings and a front layout? If so, why has the allegedly very talented MC never done this when those are all very elementary skills, and why is it portrayed as the only way to get high enough in the air when back handsprings give you exponentially more momentum? On the uneven bars, a “backwards straddle roll” from reverse grip, which is mentioned repeatedly, is not a move that exists. The closest thing I can think of is a Jaeger, which is a single-bar release, not a transition to the low bar, and functions nothing like described. Why is the main character's back walkover on the beam given such focus when this is taught to young kids at beginner levels, and immediately abandoned once they learn harder skills? And so on.)
The mystery storyline is nicely done, but the obvious gymnastics errors take you out of the story. My younger sister, a twelve-year-old gymnast whom I planned to gift this to, said they made her laugh, so at least it doesn't fully diminish the reading experience?
I respect that the author was an actual Olympian, but in my opinion if you’re going to write a novel about about gymnastics, you should actually research gymnastics! I learned more about gymnastics (before my sister started the sport) from watching the Olympics and doing some casual reading of forums than is evident in this entire book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews