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Gold Medal
Gold Medal Winter
Esperanza Flores's place on the United States Olympic figure skating team has come at the expense of an injured skater, so in addition to the pressure of sudden fame and outsized expectations Espi has to deal with the resentment of her teammates--and their efforts to sabotage her routine.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 7, 2014
18 people are currently reading
509 people want to read
About the author
Donna Freitas
34 books632 followersDonna Freitas is the author of The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano, Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, and many other novels and nonfiction books for adults, children, and young adults. Her latest YA novel is a rom-com that takes place in her favorite city, Barcelona: Stefi and the Spanish Prince. She has been featured on NPR and The Today Show, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The LA Times, among many other places. Donna currently serves on the faculty at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s MFA program. She also lives half the year in Barcelona where she loves partaking of its many bakeries and delicious restaurants galore. Learn more about Donna at www.donnafreitas.com and on Substack: https://donnafreitas.substack.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
April 18, 2020
After taking the Ladies Figure Skating silver at nationals, Esperanza can hardly believe she’s on the Olympic team. If she wants to medal she’ll have to overcome self-doubt, mean girls, cute boys and backstage drama.
GOLD MEDAL WINTER appeals to middle grade and younger YA readers and skating fans. Donna Freitas gives readers a sweet story with little edge or tension. I loved Esperanza’s relationship with her mom, devotion to her coach and friendships with her former classmates. The diner where her mom works and all the supportive people created a real sense of extended family. Coach Chen and her husband are the kind of people everyone should have in their lives. Some of the minor characters seemed straight out of central casting, the mean girl with no positive attributes, the nice girl who was nothing but supportive.
GOLD MEDAL WINTER is a winner for tween and younger teens.
GOLD MEDAL WINTER appeals to middle grade and younger YA readers and skating fans. Donna Freitas gives readers a sweet story with little edge or tension. I loved Esperanza’s relationship with her mom, devotion to her coach and friendships with her former classmates. The diner where her mom works and all the supportive people created a real sense of extended family. Coach Chen and her husband are the kind of people everyone should have in their lives. Some of the minor characters seemed straight out of central casting, the mean girl with no positive attributes, the nice girl who was nothing but supportive.
GOLD MEDAL WINTER is a winner for tween and younger teens.
June 9, 2014
Esperanza Flores, called Espi, is a sixteen-year-old figure skater who gets her big break when she places second at Nationals the year one of the top US skaters is out with a knee injury. Unexpectedly, she's on the US Olympic team.
I love figure skating. I did it myself as a child, and I've never forgotten how much fun it is. Plus, it's one of the funnest sports to watch. Thus, I had very high hopes for GOLD MEDAL WINTER. For the most part, it delivered.
I liked that GOLD MEDAL WINTER emphasizes that ice skating is tough and requires a great deal of practice and dedication. Like most performers and athletes, Espi is superstitious. Belief in yourself and not giving into mind games or the pressure is also part of winning. But Espi gets caught up in a lot of drama on her way to the games.
I really didn't like the love triangle in GOLD MEDAL WINTER. Espi has made it the the Olympics, something she's been working for for years, but instead she's going to spend her time worrying about boys? Like Espi's coach, I was disappointed that she was giving into the drama. I was also disappointed that in the end, their isn't much description of Espi's routines.
GOLD MEDAL WINTER is a quick middle-grade read that will satisfy ice skating and Olympics fans. Author Donna Freitas incorporates a lot of detail about how the team is picked and such that adds to the verisimilitude of the story. Espi's Dominican heritage also adds another layer of interest to the story. Predicting the ending isn't much trouble, but the journey is fun.
I love figure skating. I did it myself as a child, and I've never forgotten how much fun it is. Plus, it's one of the funnest sports to watch. Thus, I had very high hopes for GOLD MEDAL WINTER. For the most part, it delivered.
I liked that GOLD MEDAL WINTER emphasizes that ice skating is tough and requires a great deal of practice and dedication. Like most performers and athletes, Espi is superstitious. Belief in yourself and not giving into mind games or the pressure is also part of winning. But Espi gets caught up in a lot of drama on her way to the games.
I really didn't like the love triangle in GOLD MEDAL WINTER. Espi has made it the the Olympics, something she's been working for for years, but instead she's going to spend her time worrying about boys? Like Espi's coach, I was disappointed that she was giving into the drama. I was also disappointed that in the end, their isn't much description of Espi's routines.
GOLD MEDAL WINTER is a quick middle-grade read that will satisfy ice skating and Olympics fans. Author Donna Freitas incorporates a lot of detail about how the team is picked and such that adds to the verisimilitude of the story. Espi's Dominican heritage also adds another layer of interest to the story. Predicting the ending isn't much trouble, but the journey is fun.
March 11, 2016
I've read this book twice now and I find things i didn't find before. All the drama and anxiety gets to Espi but in the end she prevails as Americas darling. Espi is very well rounded girl that learns to handle what everyone says good or bad. In this book she has learned how to pick herself up and learned how to bring herself down.
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January 12, 2023This fueled my figure skating obsession in 5th grade <3
June 29, 2019
Esperanza is dol op kunstschaatsen en traint al 10 jaar. ze krijgt de kans om naar de olympische spelen te gaan en dat is een droom die voor haar uitkomt. je volgt haar als ze traint vlak voordat ze na de olympische spelen gaat maar ook op de olympische spelen. het is niet alleen schaatsen maar ook drama want de andere twee dames van het kunstschaatsen zijn niet altijd even aardig tegen haar vooral omdat zij die kans kreeg omdat er een andere schaatser gewond was en dus niet kan schaatsen. een boek dat niet echt zomers was maar wel eentje waar ik erg van had genoten. het draait ook om familie, vriendschap en ook liefde.
August 3, 2018
I LOVED this book! Loved it, loved it, loved it!!! I'm so looking forward to not only read it again, but to read Gold Medal Summer! This book is one of my favorites!
July 6, 2016
This was a very fun and exciting book to read! I definitely feel like the romance could have been better developed and this is one of those stories that's really predictable. However, it was still really entertaining! A enjoyable and quick read.
February 20, 2020
okay maybe i did give this book 4 stars because im a figure skating nut and this was my favourite book as a kid. whatever. espi and meredith are gay
August 11, 2022
So good
Need more Danny scenes though
Need more Danny scenes though
October 16, 2025
Forever a favourite, I adore this book
March 31, 2024
E ARC from Netgalley.com
Esperanza Flores has worked hard but also been lucky-- her single mother has a supportive community at the Italian restaurant where she works; Esperanza's Coach Chen moved to her small town, coaches her for free AND has her own rink right next door to a small house the Flores family rents; and she gets on the Olympic team when the girl who scores right above her is injured. Espi's friends and family are supportive of her trip to the Olympics even though her Dominican national mother has some trouble getting a visa to travel to the Olympics. There is a lot of in-fighting on the ice skating team, and Espi is both angry and sad that the other figure skaters can't be nice to her. She is also distracted by two boy skaters, one of whom may just be toying with her emotions for the press's benefit and also on behalf of the injured skater whose place she took. Espi desperately wants to land a quadruple salchow jump, but also wants to make her mother proud AND get along with everyone on the Olympic team.
Strengths: Like Gold Medal Summer, this was a great book about sports, girl drama, AND romance. It's well written, I like the characters, and the plot moves right along. I would never have read a book about girls doing sports when I was in middle school, but I would have loved this one because of all of the great details about traveling, and all the drama. Awesome stuff!
Weaknesses: Hmmm. Nope. Even liked the drama with the two boys, the stuff with the mean skater girls-- can't think of anything I would change!
Esperanza Flores has worked hard but also been lucky-- her single mother has a supportive community at the Italian restaurant where she works; Esperanza's Coach Chen moved to her small town, coaches her for free AND has her own rink right next door to a small house the Flores family rents; and she gets on the Olympic team when the girl who scores right above her is injured. Espi's friends and family are supportive of her trip to the Olympics even though her Dominican national mother has some trouble getting a visa to travel to the Olympics. There is a lot of in-fighting on the ice skating team, and Espi is both angry and sad that the other figure skaters can't be nice to her. She is also distracted by two boy skaters, one of whom may just be toying with her emotions for the press's benefit and also on behalf of the injured skater whose place she took. Espi desperately wants to land a quadruple salchow jump, but also wants to make her mother proud AND get along with everyone on the Olympic team.
Strengths: Like Gold Medal Summer, this was a great book about sports, girl drama, AND romance. It's well written, I like the characters, and the plot moves right along. I would never have read a book about girls doing sports when I was in middle school, but I would have loved this one because of all of the great details about traveling, and all the drama. Awesome stuff!
Weaknesses: Hmmm. Nope. Even liked the drama with the two boys, the stuff with the mean skater girls-- can't think of anything I would change!
March 28, 2020
Although this book is intended for a young audience, it is one of the better skating novels I have read recently. Although it is filled with teenage angst and silliness, the story really does focus on skating. The author performed sufficient research to provide realistic detail about the current state of competitive ice skating. Her description of attending the Olympics seemed very real.
The book has its flaws. Where the Olympics were being held and when is not mentioned. That may be just to provide a timelessness. I am also left wondering which Olympic champion was erased from history to make room for Coach Chen. I would guess Yamaguchi, Baiul, or Lipinski.
The author also seems to beat the reader over the head with the ethnicity of the main character. There are a lot of Spanish phrases inserted in the text seemingly for that purpose. The Press also nicknamed the character "Spinorita". I don't know if that's offensive or not, but I cringed every time I read it.
The book has its flaws. Where the Olympics were being held and when is not mentioned. That may be just to provide a timelessness. I am also left wondering which Olympic champion was erased from history to make room for Coach Chen. I would guess Yamaguchi, Baiul, or Lipinski.
The author also seems to beat the reader over the head with the ethnicity of the main character. There are a lot of Spanish phrases inserted in the text seemingly for that purpose. The Press also nicknamed the character "Spinorita". I don't know if that's offensive or not, but I cringed every time I read it.
February 6, 2021
rating- 4/5
do I recommend? yes however, it is a young audience read and it may not be the best if you are looking for steamy romance scenes
Review-
The first time I read it, I absolutely loved it! However, I was very young at that time. I recently reread it and it felt ok/boring? But I do remember absoultely loving it so it gets a 4! I really liked how the main character is pretty much a normal person and not some "ice princess". What I dont like about this book is the fact that it was boring at some parts. I wanted more, especially with Danny (Espi's love interest, Espi is the main chracter!) I do understand that this is a read for a younger audienece which may explain why it was "boring" in my eyes. Sometimes, books for a younger audience are always fun to read. It has been a very long time since I read a book for a younger audience so I really enjoyed having a "carefree read".
do I recommend? yes however, it is a young audience read and it may not be the best if you are looking for steamy romance scenes
Review-
The first time I read it, I absolutely loved it! However, I was very young at that time. I recently reread it and it felt ok/boring? But I do remember absoultely loving it so it gets a 4! I really liked how the main character is pretty much a normal person and not some "ice princess". What I dont like about this book is the fact that it was boring at some parts. I wanted more, especially with Danny (Espi's love interest, Espi is the main chracter!) I do understand that this is a read for a younger audienece which may explain why it was "boring" in my eyes. Sometimes, books for a younger audience are always fun to read. It has been a very long time since I read a book for a younger audience so I really enjoyed having a "carefree read".
May 21, 2018
This book was amazing and showed the struggles of a small-town skating girl who is suddenly finds that she has a potential chance for gold in the Olympics for figure skating. Being the first to land a quad sal is an amazing plot line, and being a Dominican is showing that she is different. I didn't really care for the romance, but I understand why it was there. I love that she stays normal like a normal high-school girl even after getting chosen; she still has the struggles of a normal high-schooler. I wish they showed more about her Olympic routine, because that would have been the best moment in the story. So glad that Stacie was exposed as the mean girl, I think I would have sold that girl out!! I haven't read Gold Medal Summer yet, but looks really good!
September 14, 2018
I read this book over the summer and I absolutely loved it. Espinoza Flores (the main character) is an Olympic figure skater that deals with a lot of drama during the course of her career. She’s truly a strong and sweet character.
December 2, 2017
Utterly ridiculous but I loved it! (figure skating geek here...)
February 15, 2018
This is one of my favorite books because she is overcoming all the drama that comes at her. And acheves the olimpic dream that she wanted.
October 31, 2018
Loved it! And I just started the about the second book about gymnastics. Hope it is as good as this one!
December 13, 2018
This is a good book! I was rooting for Danny all along. (Maybe because I've read this before?) Anyway I recommend this to people who like figure skating, and romance.
Just remember, superstition isn't real. God doesn't care if a black cat crosses your path.
Just remember, superstition isn't real. God doesn't care if a black cat crosses your path.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 9, 2019Recommended for people who like figure skating and people who care about ending racism.
February 24, 2020
This was a great book! I love Esperanza's determination to go for Olympic gold!
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February 27, 2020It is my favorite book that I have read.
April 23, 2020
This is better then Tail of Magic.
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June 17, 2021Really don't get the ratings on this one. Pure soap opera and very little skating.
November 13, 2022
It's my comfort book.Need I say more about why I rated 5 stars
August 25, 2023
Too much drama not enough skating but still a really good book
January 11, 2024
Read this along with my 11 year old. Great for middle grade readers, especially if they figure skate 😀
April 22, 2024
I loved this book so good I found some of the skating terms a bit. annoying as i am not a skater.
January 30, 2025
Whoa! 🤯 this book packs a punch. If your looking to jump into the world of Figure skating and feel like your there, don’t sleep on this read!
May 28, 2019
this book was amazing! It also inspired little girls to work extra hard. and gives a LOT of detail. it makes me want to NEVER stop reading! And it also makes me wonder what will happen. I didnt know if she was going to make it or not but now i do.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews