When It Counts

by Lauren Hopkins

A year ago, 15-year-old Amalia Blanchard failed to qualify to nationals, but now with less than two months until the 2016 Olympic Games, she’s the United States beam champion on her way to fight for a spot on the Olympic team. Gymnastics is Amalia’s life and she’s sacrificed everything to get this far, but she still has to prove she has what it takes to stand out in Rio. The competition is tough and nothing is guaranteed, not even for her teammates, recently-crowned national champion Ruby Spencer, who missed the 2012 Olympics after rupturing her Achilles a month before the Games, and world champion Emerson Bedford, whose personal drama is threatening her mental game when she needs it most. Picking up where "Finding Our Balance" left off, "When It Counts" follows Amalia, Ruby, and Emerson on the next steps in their journey to Rio.

Genres: Young Adult, Sports, Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published December 11, 2016

About the author

Lauren Hopkins began writing for The Couch Gymnast in July 2010, initially writing a few stories each year before becoming the U.S. Editor in 2012.

She founded The Gymternet in 2014, and as Editor-in-Chief, she aims to produce smart, critical, and fair gymnastics content that puts the athlete first, with live meet coverage, interviews, and profiles the cornerstone of her reporting. She also created the You Asked, The Gymternet Answered column where she answers questions and shares her knowledge to help make an often difficult-to-understand sport more accessible to fans.

As a gymnastics reporter, Lauren has covered every elite competition on U.S. soil since 2010, in addition to covering all major international competitions including world championships and the Olympic Games. In 2016, Lauren worked as an associate producer for NBC’s live digital coverage of the Rio Games, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Trans-Media Sports Coverage as part of the NBCOlympics.com team, and her writing has been featured in publications around the world, including in the Huffington Post. She has also written two young adult novels about elite gymnastics, with a third on the way.

A New England native, Lauren has lived in New York City since 2003 and earned her BA in History at Columbia University.

Reviews

[Lauren Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book continues the story I wrote in "Finding Our Balance" and after at least six months of distribution and editing issues, it's FINALLY coming out this week! It might be up on Amazon as early as tomorrow, but the 13th is the official date. Anyway, apologies for the annoyingly long wait, but I think you'll really enjoy what happens in this book even if you'll hate me for where it leaves you hanging. :)

[Martina Primerano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and this series with every fiber of my organism, I rooted for Mal, Ruby, Emerson, Zara (and yeah, to a certain degree even for Maddy, and I TOTALLY did not expect the final twist - literally, as we're talking about gymnastics) so hard I wasn't able to stand the pressure, but they thankfully were. They're amazing, and some of the best characters I've ever read about. And how could I not mention Natasha, the best coach ever, and Jack? I so, so hope Lauren decides to write the third book, because I need to know how the rest of the Olympics go for my beloved team. I need it. If it was up to me, I'd read ten more books about their every competition and the rest of their lives.

[Jennifer (Insert Lit Pun) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just had a blast reading this. Yeah, the teenage voice was kind of annoying at times (I'm not a big YA reader), but I mean, that kind of proves that it was authentic. And the plot twists in here are INSANE. Most of all, I appreciated hearing about the nitty-gritty aspects of gymnastics (the training, the politics, and even the physics) from someone like Hopkins, who has genuinely encyclopedic knowledge when it comes to this sport. I can't wait for the third book, I'm actually freaking out from the ending of this one and I NEED to know what happens next.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is everything gym-nerds wanted Make It or Break It to be. It realistically follows a group of girls from training to the Rio Olympics, including a certain amount of significant setbacks along the way. The personal drama isn't too much, which is refreshing considering outside personal drama isn't as important to these women as their gymnastics careers are. After this series is over, Hopkins should consider a career in young adult writing. The writing is fast paced and exiting, and I can't wait to read the final installment.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book by Lauren Hopkins picks up right where the first one left off, and follows Amalia's Olympic Trials and beyond, along with the continued season of the other elite gymnasts. I like the series, but am seriously bummed that the third book- I can only assume the conclusion of the story, as the ending is a cliffhanger- is NOT available on Kindle.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 STARS

WHEN IT COUNTS is the second book in a trilogy, but the third book doesn’t exist, so readers are left with a cliffhanger on Amalia’s road to the Olympics.

Lauren Hopkins writes well, but her plot is predictable. Even with some twists and turns, the outcome isn’t in doubt.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lauren Hopkins did it again! From the storyline to the personalities of the characters to the exciting cliffhanger ending, When It Counts is a perfect second installment in the 2016 season. I really enjoyed how, generally, Hopkins kept real-life 2016 events the same, such as Russian doping, the U.S. men's qualification results and even the subdivision the U.S. was in at the Games, the starting event and the other full team with it. She makes you think you know what's going to happen because you watched it play out in real life but then the storyline takes another exciting turn. There's also a good balance of everything: routines, romance with Jack, competition results, downtime — just enough of everything and not too much of one thing or another. Which could be a problem with so many different competitions and gymnastics at the heart of the storyline. Overall, the factor that makes Hopkins' story truly great is the knowledge you see she has about the whole Olympic process. It's authentic and realistic — even the parts that are made up. I did have one tiny nitpick, though. Because of the relative push to get the book published on time, there were some typos and missing words here and there but nothing too glaring.

I cannot wait for the third one to see how everything unfolds!

[Hailey Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad I finally got to read this!! Lauren knows so much about gymnastics, not to mention that she's a great writer, and I really enjoyed the continuation of Amalia's story. Amalia is plucky and hardworking and sarcastic and I love her. Also, all the Harry Potter references were fun! A must-read for any gymnastics fan or anyone at all, honestly.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing well done. It left me on the edge of my seat and so heartbroken at times. Quick paced and had so many plot twists that I didn't see coming. I'm mad at where it ended but it left we wanting more-something a true good book should do. So when's book 3 hahaha

[Mary Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This continued the story fabulously! I was completely caught up in the gymnasts' careers again, and going through all the twists and turns was so exciting, even though it was sort of one of those "you know the hero isn't going to die" situations. And the Harry Potter references were beautiful!

Amalia is a great narrator, and she fabulously offsets her over-the-top teammates. She's one of the most bearable YA female leads I've found recently. Ruby is still absolute perfection, obnoxious but impossible not to love and root for. And Emerson. I love that snippy, hyper-competitive, bringer-of-reality you-know-what. I just really love characters who snap main characters out of their self-centered bubbles.

[Kim Zwart · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Trials coming up, I figured this mini series would be fun to read.
And it turns out... it was fun! Both books were very easy reads.
With this one, I'll say there were almost no surprised to me when it came to the plot... Once we knew one thing, I figured the next two big, important things were going to happen. But, it was fun read regardless.

[Erica Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm obsessed with this series! There were some minor typos and continuity errors, especially towards the end, but nothing to make the book unreadable. I love the characters and how well gymnastics is portrayed. Looking forward to the next one!

[Meg ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 45%. Probably could have trucked through if I hadn't found out the 3rd book was never published. The writing style somehow evolved from the first book to be even more stereotypical and unrealistic. The plot and atmosphere made me super uncomfortable and made very little sense.

[Emily Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just reread this for maybe the 2nd or 3rd time? It’s such a fun read that I am so curious where Lauren was going to take the story. Wish there was a 3rd book out! Seriously, I’d take a even rough draft for a decent sum of $$ 😀

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining for fans of the sport. Better pacing than the first one, but also felt like some plot points were drama for the sake of drama.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much like the first book, this was a predictable but enjoyable feelgood-read. Shame there isn't a third one though... leaving off where this does, the whole thing feels unfinished.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanta la forma que tiene Lauren de relatar el detrás de escena de estos Trials y de todo el camino hacia los Juegos Olímpicos. Sé que es un libro que nos interesa solo a los fanáticos de la gimnasia, pero a mi me gusta mucho el vocabulario y la construcción de cada personaje.
Estoy esperando la novela final!

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this in an afternoon instead of going to class. whoops. This was a wild ride from start to finish and I loved the way Lauren managed to convey they excitement of trials. I also really enjoyed "meeting" Zara and I need a spin off about her life because she seems awesome. Oh, and I need the third book, stat. Thanks for making the gymternet happy lauren!

[Nevergreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it has been a while since I read the first book in the series, I pretty confident in saying this book is a vast improvement over that one in terms of writing. It was a great, quick read that is perfect for fans of the sport and those that want to know more about the sport to learn more in an accurate, readable way. There were a few things that someone not familiar with US gymnastics might be confused about in the very beginning, however after that one or two incidences Hopkins was great about explaining things to make sense to those less familiar. The first book suffered from being overly skill-heavy and I didn't notice that at all in this one. I do agree with other reviewers that people familiar with the sport will see the 'twists' happening before they happen, but I don't fault the book for that at all nor do I fault the book for the fairly anti-climatic plot and pacing due to the nature of the timeline of the book (sorry! but it kinda was when you are familiar with the sport). There were some typos and a few contradictory statements that could have been cleaned up in the final version of the book (the team final lineup order changed between paragraphs for example). Also Jack reminded me of a bland John Green love interest, which I love Jack but I want to see a bit more characterization in him, to know more about his motivations and how he and Amalia have managed to keep their friendship thing alive through a bunch of major life things.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I read this in like a day because I needed to know how it ended and I am excited to see what the next one brings. I also maintain that a Marta clone would not let her gymnasts wear headphones/listen to music at the Olympics even if it is allowed and athletes use it to calm down. Marta was all about professionalism and getting the job done effortlessly and I have never seen a US athlete wear headphones at an international meet.

[Amanda (Books, Life and Everything Nice) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a well written, dynamic novel about Olympic level gymnasts then When It Counts is for you. It’s a continuation of the author's first novel, Finding Our Balance. We follow the stories of Amalia, Ruby, and Emerson as they’re trying to make the U.S. Olympic team for gymnastics. Halfway through the team is announced, and the girls who are selected then travel to Rio for the 2016 Olympics. Despite being a book for gymnasts and gym fans, When It Counts will appeal to so many readers. There’s the drama and high stakes intensity that comes from working towards and possibly making an Olympic team. Traveling out of the country, to Brazil, and the entire Olympic experience provide even more excitement. The authors added in little bits form the actual 2016 Olympics that add to the authenticity of this gymnastics world and give an added bonus for gym fans. When It Counts is just a good, if not better, than the first book in the series. I cannot wait for the author’s next book.

[Kleon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este segundo ha sido posiblemente más entretenido que el anterior. Me ha tenido enganchada en todo momento y se leía sólo.
Me ha gustado mucho ver por todo lo que pasa la prota a lo largo de este libro, aunque los pequeños giros son algo que al final ves venir no quitan que sean malas opciones, al contrario, creo que es algo que realmente quieres que pase en cierto modo.
El final queda un poco en el aire y hasta el tercer libro no sabremos las consecuencias y reacciones de lo sucedido en las últimas páginas, aunque me hago a la idea.

[Ele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just as good as the first book in the series, I really enjoy the accuracy of it from a gym fan point of view. I'm definitely outside the target range of readers for these books, but I still enjoyed it. There's quite a few typos that need to be fixed in the next editions, but content-wise it was pretty fun and fast read.

[Patricia Franco rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que bien me lo paso leyendo estos libros es como ver una competición de gimnasia, genial!!

[Lex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might have been a really good book if only it had had an editor, but taking a couple of stars off for all the continuity errors.

[Kendra T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first book in this series, Finding Our Balance, and I loved this one too! Perfect for those of us who love to consume all gymnastics related media but always get annoyed with all the inaccuracies, and also perfect for those of us who just really love YA novels despite being in their twenties. I love that it's a book by gymnerds for gymnerds but can also be enjoyed by everyone. Warning: ends on a bit of a cliff hanger like the last one so you'll probably go crazy waiting for the next one to come out.