I'm That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams

by Jordan Chiles, Angel Pean (narrator)

With a Foreword by Simone Biles

The sensational two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles’s heartfelt, inspiring memoir chronicling her unlikely path to the podium—including the unprecedented challenges, the joy of winning, the crushing pain of defeat, and the love and support of her devoted family and teammates that helps her stay strong.

It was a rare and stunning after the judges at the 2024 Paris Olympics determined that Jordan had rightfully scored third place for her performance—following a successful challenge by her coach—she earned the bronze medal. Later, Jordan’s euphoria turned to devastation when the Court of Arbitration for Sport stripped her of that medal based on nothing but semantics. Jordan called the ruling, “One of the most challenging moments of my career. Believe me when I say I have had many.”

In her powerful, eye-opening memoir, Jordan digs deep, sharing the story of her life’s challenges—the racism she encountered as a gifted Black girl in a predominantly white elite sport, the battles with body image and subsequent unhealthy relationship with food, the grueling practices, the injuries, the moments of nearly calling it quits. Through it all, Jordan refused to give up. Through sheer grit—and the love of her family—she kept working and winning. When Simone Biles stepped away from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after a case of the “twisties,” Jordan stepped in to play a key role in securing silver for Team USA. And in Paris, Jordan made history as part of the first all-Black podium in all of men's and women’s gymnastics.

Told with refreshing candor and Jordan’s irrepressible spirit, I’m That Girl is a glimpse of life in the psychologically and physically demanding upper echelons of women’s elite gymnastics. Exploring the deep bonds so often forged in pressure cookers, Jordan speaks openly about her relationships with her teammates, including her best friend and “big sister” Simone Biles, and how their support for one another has proved invaluable on and off the mat.

With the highs, lows, twists, and turns characteristic of the sport, I’m That Girl reveals how one extraordinary young woman keeps her balance in a uniquely dizzying life. By way of her unwavering tenacity, Jordan has changed the culture of gymnastics, fighting every day to ensure that the girls she inspires are not pre-judged for their hair, their bodies, or their skin color. Insightful and deeply moving, I’m That Girl is a testament to the power of perseverance and the transformative joy of doing what you love, told by a fierce and unique individual who has been and will always be That Girl—the ultimate hype woman who shows up and gives it her all.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Memoir, Audiobook, Biography, Biography Memoir, Adult

Audible Audio

Published March 4, 2025

Reviews

[JaymeO · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may recall Simone Biles’ extraordinary comeback from the 2020 Olympic Games in 2024 after withdrawing from the competition due to a severe case of the twisties. In the 2024 Olympic Games, she won 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal. Or maybe you remember Suni Lee’s inspirational fight to continue competing in gymnastics despite her incurable kidney disease and debilitating treatment. She won 1 gold medal and 2 bronze medals at the 2024 Olympics. Or even the 2024 USA gymnastics team getting redemption from 2020 by winning the team gold medal. Unfortunately, among all of the triumphs of the 2024 Olympic Games, one athlete’s story does not have a happy ending.

Who is Jordan Chiles? This Olympian’s journey to the top is fraught with adversity and controversy. She suffered horrible abuse from her alcoholic coach, was the target of viscous racism, and was undeservingly stripped of her fairly won bronze medal in the individual floor exercise at the 2024 Olympics. However, she is making huge strides in bringing much deserved attention to these important issues.

Despite all of her setbacks and achievements, Jordan Chiles remains positive, bubbly, and always true to herself.

I listened to the audiobook which is mostly read by Angel Pean, with Chiles just voicing the dedication, epigraph, and epilogue. In Pean’s narration, she frequently mispronounces people’s names, which is super annoying and such a pet peeve of mine. Do your research! I also prefer to hear memoirs read by the author, as it adds to the authenticity of the story.

Chiles is a warrior for girls in the sport of gymnastics and a fantastic role model for young Black athletes! I really hope that one day the terrible decision to strip her of third place finish will be reversed and she will get the credit she deserves for her floor routine…and the bronze medal!

4/5 stars

[Sandy (Sandy.Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a fantastic story told by the queen herself! As a longtime fan of women’s gymnastics, I’ve followed Jordan Chiles for years, and getting to hear her side of everything—her journey, the challenges, and the triumphs—was incredible. She brings so much heart and honesty to her story, making it an inspiring and empowering read. Whether you’re a gymnastics fan or love a great memoir about perseverance and chasing your dreams, this book is absolutely worth reading (or listening to!).

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved 😍 this !
Loved Jordan beforehand but this book has me admiring and respecting her even more. ❤️

She's a strong, empathetic person.. she kept going as life threw her crapola sundae 🍨 after crapola sundae 🍨.

Hugged 🤗 this book when I finished and propping it up by my bed so I can have her words near me.

Have had rough times for awhile now, it's been tough to keep my head above water (the crapstorm that is reality doesn't help either)... I hope I can get through it with as much strength and grace like Jordan.

[Phoebe (readandwright) Wright]

I don’t do star ratings for memoirs, but wow wow wow this book made me tear up constantly. A must read.

[Nev · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s always fun to see Jordan Chiles hyping up the crowd and her fellow gymnasts during meets. Her positive attitude is contagious. I was excited to read this book and learn more about her history in the sport and internal thoughts during her time in the spotlight. While I did enjoy aspects of this book, overall I feel like it fell a bit short.

It’s so maddening to hear about Jordan’s experiences with her first coach who was racist, constantly shaming Jordan about her body, and endangering Jordan by coming to practice while drunk. But it was also great to read about her being able to change gyms, become closer with Simone, and really be able to flourish as a gymnast. I liked getting to hear about behind the scenes moments during the Olympics and other competitions.

Where I think the book faltered a bit was that Jordan’s story still feels unfinished. There still hasn’t been a decision with the appeal that Jordan filed with the Swiss court over her bronze medal. So you get to the end of the book and are just left hanging. I realize that her book deal came about before they knew this was going to be going on… but I feel like it would’ve made for a stronger book if they waited until everything was said and done so that it could've been fully covered. Also it felt like things were being left out of the book that could’ve added context for readers, like her mom’s legal trouble and how that impacted her. Or the lack of a Russian team at the 2024 Olympics.

[Bea Amsalu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jordan the woman you are😭😭😭😭😭😭 yall better text Jordan 10x to 21523 every Tuesday and get her that mirrorball!!!

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a great story of resilience and perseverance. justice for jordan fr!!!

[Sheronda H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Jordan’s story. Even at a young age she had people in awe of her talent. She had some struggles with the adults around her. It’s so sickening that people would treat a child like they treated her. She’s such an amazing gymnast and I’m sure she’ll continue to shine.

[Hannah Zajas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly phenomenal

[Jolianne Lavergne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved learning about Jordan's life before becoming an Olympian, she overcame so many obstacles and challenges to get where she's at today. It was so interesting to relive the 2020 and 2024 Olympics through her eyes.
Learned more information about what happened and why she got her bronze medal strupped away... and am even more devastated and upset as before!

[Jordyn Roesler | Sorry, Booked Solid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this!! I can understand why someone might question whether Jordan has enough life experience to warrant a memoir, but I’m here to say she absolutely does. Her writing it now, when she’s still so young, allows it to be extremely fresh and feel accurate and authentic to how she truly feels/felt through so many notable events (making 2 Olympic teams, her bronze medal lawsuit, training at the ranch and with Larry nassar, etc, PLUS all of the adversity she faced getting to the elite level in the first place). It’s not a perfect memoir, and I wouldn’t say the writing is anything spectacular, but I think it’s a story worth being told and I’m glad to have read it!

[nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoyed listening to this memoir! whilst it might have benefited from a fact checker - there were a few incorrect dates etc, e.g. the racist remark carlotta ferlito made was in 2013 not 2016, this isn’t something that casual gymnastics fans would pick up on and it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book at all.

listening to jordan’s early experiences with coach x was heartbreaking, and listening to her recount her the bronze medal stripping then the racism that came with it was really hard to listen to, i can’t even imagine having to live through it. stripping the medial was not something that should have ever been allowed to happen, regardless of who you thought performed best on the day. jordan, ana and sabrina were all failed by the institutions who value money and and exposure over athletes wellbeing, but this isn’t the first time that’s happened in sport i guess.

i would recommend this for anyone interested in gymnastics, the multiple usa gymnastics regime changes, racism in sport and what you can achieve with resilience and determination even under the worst circumstances

[Natalie Hansen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but the frequent errors made it hard to enjoy. It’s clear very little was fact checked as dates, events, and even athletes names were frequently incorrect. This book seemed rushed to get published while the bronze medal debacle was still relevant to the masses. The Swiss Tribunal still has not ruled on the appeal, it’s been less than a year since the Olympics, and the publisher and ghost writer clearly didn’t take or have the time to thoroughly fact check this book. The whole thing felt rushed and sloppy. I still think Jordan is an incredible athlete with an amazing story. I just don’t think this book highlighted that in the way it could have.

[Briana Seymour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best read of 2025…so far ☺️

[Sonya Ulman]

give her back her medal !!

[heather | booksbyheath]

Obsessed

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible! RTC

Thank you to Jordan and the Libro.FM influencer program for the advance audiobook!

[Lakes Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars feels too small for this book. Jordan’s story was so beautiful and important . I shed tears between her talking about the struggles of mental health and making history as a black woman in a white dominated field all while facing heavy racism. I loved this book. She is truely THAT GIRL

[Payton Hunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing story. Getting to listen to Jordan read her own story made it all the more impactful.

[Kim Sundling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you LibroFM for this audio ARC. I was a gymnast growing up, so I was absolutely thrilled to read this book. Jordan is an absolute icon, and you would have never guessed the struggles and absolute abused faced by this brave girl. A must read irregardless of your interest in the sport!

[Amanda G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like a proud big sister. You go Jordan!

[Lauren Kirchmyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jordan is very raw in this autobiography. She shares very person experiences from growing up training with a racist alcoholic for a coach, up to her Olympic bronze being stripped from her. She discusses the importance of mental health and speaking up throughout the book. I hope she writes another after her time competing in gymnastics comes to an end, especially sharing more about her time at UCLA!

[Katrina Villanueva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so happy that the world finally gets to hear Jordan’s story.

I was so emotional to find that several of her well deserved achievements were sabotaged because of micro aggression and abusive coaches. It’s sad because this girl constantly thought gymnastics was against her and when she finally pushed through her mental barriers- she was then STRIPPED of her bronze medal that she won fair and square. This girl could not catch a break and my heart broke for her.

But after all these years of torment, this girl still perseveres. Despite the unfortunate situation with her bronze medal, she changed the culture of gymnastics for the better and I believe that’s a huge win in itself.

[Nessie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

finished this in 2 days, SO GOOD. i’ve always followed the world of competitive gymnastics & listening to Jordan’s experience was simply a must.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so lazy. Jordan doesn’t narrate it. I imagine she had nothing to do with it at all. By all the praises in the book, it sounds like it was all written by her scammer mom! Factually incorrect and outright delusional in several places.

[Ximena Elizondo]

she’s that girl

[Amy Everhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good story to hear the true story of all the hard work and sacrifices the Olympic medal takes

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have so much respect for Jordan and the USA women’s gymnastics team 👏🏼 she is a game changer

[Book Boyfriend · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this memoir. Jordan’s willingness not to give up during the tough times and the support she had from her family and teammates was admirable and precious. I also loved Jordan’s faith in Christ, her tattoos and their meaning, and her ability to go through therapy to become a better person for herself, her family, and her team.

[Erika Sacks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queen!!! 👑 Loved reading about Jordan Chiles’ story - full of heartbreak and success