The Hopeful

by Tracy O'Neill

A figure skating prodigy, sixteen-year old Alivopro Doyle is one of a few "hopefuls" racing against nature's clock to try and jump and spin their way into the Olympics. But when a disastrous fall fractures two vertebrae, leaving Ali addicted to painkillers and ultimately institutionalized, it's not just her dreams of glory that get torn asunder, but the very fabric that holds her fragile family together.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Sports, Contemporary, Figure Skating, Novels

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2015

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a word, this is a book of obsession. And I am frankly unsure if I've ever read a book so clearly voiced by the character with the obsession. Alivopro's voice is indisputably teenage, and yet O'Neill takes us so far inside her head, without constantly beating us over the head with "telling" us what she's thinking, that she could be anyone, with any obsession, and we the reader would feel the same.

It's been a long time since I felt so emotionally affected throughout the process of reading a book, but I felt every page of this one, for worse or worser. I know nothing of figure skating other than what I've seen on television during the Olympics, and yet through Alivopro's eyes I saw the sport intimately--all without the seemingly inevitable info dump that authors often find necessary to introduce an ignorant reader to a foreign sport. I understood her descent into drug addiction, just as I understood her disappointment in her adoptive mother and father: I've never been addicted to drugs, nor have I been adopted, but O'Neill writes with such poise that neither of those things matter. I could have been Alivopro, for how I felt as she was going through those experiences.

This is not a book "about figure skating." So while I would be quick to recommend it to any athlete who has ever felt obsessed with his or her sport, I would more strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a genuine teenage voice that does not pander to the formula of the YA genre.

[Book Riot Community]

Alivopro Doyle was an amazingly talented figure skating prodigy battling it out in the cutthroat world of competition skating when a horrible accident took her out of the sport. Now she's addicted to painkillers, institutionalized, and pretty much all washed up at sixteen. The Hopeful is a remarkable debut. It's a gritty look at the pressures, body shaming, and other horrors inflicted on young athletes and the strains such competitiveness can place on a family. I really enjoyed the smart, funny account of Ali's journey through forgiveness and recovery, particularly her witty exchanges with her psychiatrist. Well done, Tracy O'Neill!


Keep tabs on the newest book releases each week with our New Books! newsletter: http://bookriot.com/2014/07/29/new-bo...

[Jenneffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book combined several things I love: quick wit, people who push themselves really hard, and people overcoming obstacles. The author teases the reader with the narratives in the beginning, and continues in an intriguing way to keep the reader guessing about what is really happening, that is really unique. The pace of the story is so immediate, so relate-able, I did not want to stop. I stopped several times to savor quotes, sentences, entire dialogue blocks, for gems. One of the best novels I have read this year.

[Peter Trachtenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dazzling novel about the allure of speed and weightlessness and the horror of the slow, burdensome adult body nested in the story of a teenaged figure skater in the aftermath of physical and psychic collapse. Voice is all, and Alivopro Doyle's is mesmerizing: smart, excruciatingly aware and self-aware, and engaging without being in the least ingratiating. Less a novel about sports than a novel about ordeals, in the traditions of Harry Crews and Jamie Gordon.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! The author is brilliant!

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads, and I am very glad I did. It was AMAZING.

Alis volat propiis: She flies with her own wings. In The Hopeful, the main character's name, Alivopro, is an abbreviation for this Latin phrase, but it can also be used to describe debut author Tracy O'Neill. She, too, truly flies with her own wings. Her writing style is crisp and raw, and she is able to capture a wide range of emotions without seeming fake or unnecessarily dramatic. Her seamless shifts from present to past and back to present make it possible to cover a wide range of tough subjects in a matter-of-fact way, without coming across as too heavy-handed.

While the novel is ostensibly about a girl who, due to a terrible accident, is unable to achieve her dream of being an Olympic figure skater, it is truly about so much more than that. It's about family. It's about drug abuse. It's about adoption. It's about racism. It's about power. It's about fear. It's about falling apart without knowing how to pick up the pieces. It's about finding your place in the world, and figuring out how to go on living when everything around you is falling apart.

[Heather]

"There were many more things I hadn't done, far more than I had. I brushed my teeth, I read a poem called 'Stillborns' at school, I wanted strange iced movements and glimpsed things stranger in the moments I believed."

"I was yellow through jumps, blue through the butt, and green with Fruit Loops."

"'How do you eat your burger? I will make you one that will ruin everything else for you for life.' I told her I ate my burger rare, and if I'd said the adverb, it wouldn't have been a lie."

(I read that last one 10 times and still don't know what it means.)

I mean, what... what is this book? I checked several times if this was a rough translation from, say, Russian or French, but nope -- O'Neill is American and speaks perfect English. Ostensibly, this is a first-person account of a teenage figure skater obsessed with perfection, but I think O'Neill had much more grandiose plans for this story. There's a point in here about adoption and the definition of family and never feeling like you truly fit in, but it's buried under such florid language and high-level critical processing that it's difficult to comprehend and/or care.

This novel could've been a decent YA book if it'd had more realistic expectations for itself.

[Carolyn Isaak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid and intriguing story and perspective on the fall of an Olympic hopeful. So young but so many pressures to be great especially from a psychological dependency and wanting to achieve and be the best.

Much of the story is conversations between Ali and her therapists and family and friends. Which is fine but the author gives NO explanation or context for the conversation. A conversation is an argument with no writing clues to see it coming. No voice tone, facial expressions- nothing! Confusing!!

[Andrew Worthington · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is pretty intriguing, if sometimes submerged, but the real elements of this book that make me excited are the prose voice and the narrative psychology. Really looking forward to future work by Tracy, who is also an old friend of mine. The prose is just so expertly written; it's obvious how and why Tracy reminds me of DeLillo.

Here is an interview I did with her about this book and other things: http://fivequestions.club/post/157727...

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a mind blowing book. Before I read this, I never even thought about what athletes go through if they are REJECTED from the Olympics. Now, Tracy O’ Neil had given me a wild dive in the haystack at how devastating the aftermath can be, but despite of the causes, they is always a way of of the dark hole. Really resonating book, recommend it for any figure skating lovers.

[Kyelee Fitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alivopro holds us at arm's length in this tale about obsession, addition, and identity, framed by her conversations with her therapist. Despite the "fuzziness" of the characters and the off-kilter feel of the dialogue, the plot was compelling enough to carry me through. It felt "clever" in the same way that a teenager feels "clever," which was hard to read at times.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adoption and figure skating are both of interest to me. So this book promised to be fulfilling from go.

Additionally though, there is a lot here to contemplate about race. Then, the prose and the voice are both unique. I had to push myself though to push all the way through.

[Jarrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5

[Kaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book - full of such rich language, such beautifully-developed characters, and such striking, psychological insights. One to keep on the shelves and a writer to watch, for sure!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminded me a lot of Stephen Florida, with its semi-reliable narration and depiction of athletic obsession and, ultimately, in that the story felt obscured by its own cleverness.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love an ice skating time. This book has some dialogue that does not fit with some of the characters, but plenty of obsession and kept me entertained.

[Eman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually don't like to write reviews for novels or books of any kind but I feel like this particular novel warrants one. For the past few months I've been looking for novels involving figure skating, and I came to this. But what I found was more: addiction, love and life, forgiveness, and trying to attain the unattainable, the ideal, the perfect theism and philosophy that we all try to govern ourselves with. I found Ali in myself, trying to be perfect, though obviously our goals and outlets are very different. I can feel Ali's pain, her misattribution, her desire to return to everything that was her and everything that connected her to her adopted father. The book itself had a very unique style and almost a hallucinogenic feel to it, especially when Ali is speaking to her doctor, without distinctly separating dialogue from thought. The story was beautiful, though not an easy read, and it's speckled with tidbits of philosophy and expectations of ourselves and others.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received free signed copy from First Reads. Story of the driven young olympic hopeful as told to her therapist after her dreams and vertebrae are shattered. Insight to what drives someone to compete at this caliber. Issues of self-worth and definition of self as she struggles to keep a prepubescent frame, and magical thinking as adulthood looms.

[Paula Barto · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had a hard time reading past the first couple of pages. The premise of the book was enticing, however I found it difficult to follow the thought process of the main character. If I'm not having a good time reading, I just quit.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

well written but with a cast of unlikeable characters. It jumped (no pun intended) around too much for me. I wasn't enjoying it and did not finish. However, I do think there is a market out there for this book and this writer- I liked her idea if not the execution.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

I really enjoyed this book. Ali Doyle is an impressive character, and her journey should not be missed!

[nomadreader (Carrie D-L) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars: bold, accomplished, dark, and utterly unexpected

[Brenden Schaaf · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author tries too hard to bed clever with the writing style, but just confused me. Abandoned after a few chapters.

[Rosanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author gets at some very interesting ideas, but I found the writing heavy and sometimes muddled.

[Tobias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, visceral stuff.

[Dee]

DNF around 36%

[Kristen]

Review in progress...

[Lavinia Ludlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review here: http://therumpus.net/2016/02/the-hope...