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The Gymnasts #14
World-Class Gymnast
The whole team has read about Heidi Ferguson. But when Lauren met her she didn't seem too happy about being a celebrity. And now she's in the hospital - but why? She doesn't seem very sick. Lauren can't figure it out. Heidi has everything... she's famous... she's a world-class gymnast. What's wrong with her?
100 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1990
78 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Levy
194 books65 followersElizabeth Levy has been writing and publishing books for over thirty years and sometimes now she meets kids whose parents read her books when they were children! She has written over 80 books, a number that continues to surprise her, as it surprises her how long she's been at it.
Over the years they've printed lots of her books - over five million of them.
She loves to try writing different types of books - everything from funny mysteries to novels about kids who get in trouble to history.
One of the most pleasant surprises about writing is that she's been invited to travel all over the country and even the world speaking to children, teachers, and librarians. She's made some wonderful friendships and gotten lots of ideas for her books. One of the most special treats is that kids have drawn wonderful pictures of one of her favorite characters, Fletcher.
She grew up in Buffalo, New York, then went to Brown University, where she majored in history. When she graduated, she came to New York City and worked for ABC-TV and then for Senator Robert Kennedy. She has lived in New York ever since, and she loves it. She knows all the best places for salami, she has run four marathons, and she has completed many 5-borough bike tours, so she thinks she really knows this place well.
At certain times of the year, she can be found out at Shea Stadium watching her team, the New York Mets. She has always loved baseball.
Mostly she enjoys hanging out with her friends. They spend lots of time going to movies or plays, playing sports, having meals together.
When she's alone and not writing, she is usually reading. She reads mysteries a lot, always has, which is probably why many of her books are mysteries.
Over the years they've printed lots of her books - over five million of them.
She loves to try writing different types of books - everything from funny mysteries to novels about kids who get in trouble to history.
One of the most pleasant surprises about writing is that she's been invited to travel all over the country and even the world speaking to children, teachers, and librarians. She's made some wonderful friendships and gotten lots of ideas for her books. One of the most special treats is that kids have drawn wonderful pictures of one of her favorite characters, Fletcher.
She grew up in Buffalo, New York, then went to Brown University, where she majored in history. When she graduated, she came to New York City and worked for ABC-TV and then for Senator Robert Kennedy. She has lived in New York ever since, and she loves it. She knows all the best places for salami, she has run four marathons, and she has completed many 5-borough bike tours, so she thinks she really knows this place well.
At certain times of the year, she can be found out at Shea Stadium watching her team, the New York Mets. She has always loved baseball.
Mostly she enjoys hanging out with her friends. They spend lots of time going to movies or plays, playing sports, having meals together.
When she's alone and not writing, she is usually reading. She reads mysteries a lot, always has, which is probably why many of her books are mysteries.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 11, 2019
This series is a bit cheesy but I loved it growing up because I always wanted to take gymnastics but we did not have the funds to afford it. It is fairly realistic in the level of skill that girls obtain and it gives you plenty of gymnastics whilst still allowing for real lie stories and difficulties in the books.
April 5, 2014
It has always seemed odd to me that there are so few YA books about gymnastics (or if there are books out there, they're really hard to find; believe me, I've looked). This is middle grade, not YA, and despite the amount of time spent in the gym there wasn't all that much gymnastics, but...well.
This is the only one of the series that I've read, and it's number 14, so maybe I'd have gotten more out of it had I started at the beginning (and were I not way past the target age range). As it was, it felt quite formulaic -- just one in a long series of books that hit on a different hot-button topic every week. It assumes that the reader knows the characters already (or will read enough of the series to watch mini-dramas play out over the course of several books), but there just isn't enough space to develop issue and resolution, either. Feels like a potentially interesting idea that was never properly fleshed out.
This is the only one of the series that I've read, and it's number 14, so maybe I'd have gotten more out of it had I started at the beginning (and were I not way past the target age range). As it was, it felt quite formulaic -- just one in a long series of books that hit on a different hot-button topic every week. It assumes that the reader knows the characters already (or will read enough of the series to watch mini-dramas play out over the course of several books), but there just isn't enough space to develop issue and resolution, either. Feels like a potentially interesting idea that was never properly fleshed out.
June 24, 2013
Lauren has to do some community service, which results in the Pinecones giving a show at the children's hospital... where one of the patients has the name Heidi Ferguson. Could it be? Yes it is, THE Heidi Ferguson, world-class gymnast... the words "world-class" were mentioned SO often here that if there was some kind of Gymnasts drinking game, you'd probably die of alcohol poisoning.
This was the token anorexia storyline that also appeared in most of the series I read as a kid. All dealt with very quickly without going too in-depth, I guess because Lauren was the narrator, not Heidi. I think a bit more could have been said for the younger, more impressionable readers - glad I didn't read this one when I was eleven!
This was the token anorexia storyline that also appeared in most of the series I read as a kid. All dealt with very quickly without going too in-depth, I guess because Lauren was the narrator, not Heidi. I think a bit more could have been said for the younger, more impressionable readers - glad I didn't read this one when I was eleven!
July 28, 2014
It was not a favorite of mine out of the series
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews