Girls Only!: Volume One

Girls Only (GO!) #1-4

by Beverly Lewis

Jenna, Livvy, Heather, and Manda strive for their best in their respective sports: gymnastics, figure skating, ice-dancing, and downhill skiing. Their ultimate goal: the Olympics. As each girl struggles with life's challenges and rejoices with each triumph, the encouragement of the other Girls Only club members and their faith in God give the girls the moral support needed to push their limits and learn important lessons.

Dreams on Ice When Livvy's family moves across the country and away from her amazing ice-skating coach, Livvy is sure her Olympic dreams are shattered.

Only the Best Jenna lives and breathes gymnastics, but now she must decide: compete in the all-important meet at the Olympic Training Center or go with her parents to meet her adopted brother.

A Perfect Match Heather wants to end her couples' ice-dancing career to skate solo, but when she doesn't get her family's support, she wonders if she's really going for what she wants or if she's just being selfish.

Reach for the Stars Manda is focused on her ski competition, but when her mom needs help, Manda has to put her dream of winning the Dressel Hills Downhill Classic on ice.

Genres: Christian, Christian Fiction

512 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Beverly Lewis, raised in Pennsylvania Amish country and both a schoolteacher and an accomplished musician, has been an award-winning author for over a dozen years. Her acclaimed novel, The Preacher's Daughter, was a 2006 Quill Book Award finalist in the romance category. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today and The New York Times. She and her husband, David, live in Colorado."

Reviews

[Catherine Hawthorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a middle-grade fiction book that I found lying around my bookshelf that I decided to read. All in all, they were really enjoyable stories about the everyday lives of middle school athletes that center around a major life change (moving, new sibling, etc.)

There were some character innacuracies that I found annoying, and several times, the girls acted either too mature or really immature. And I wasn't sure I like the concept of just how hard these girls were pushing for a goal (Olympics) at such a young age. It just didn't seem realistic to me.

[Rebecca White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a lovely read. It seems to be targeted towards middle schoolers so it was a bit cringy but I enjoyed it anyway. It had strong Christian values and characters and an interesting story made up of the four girls perspectives. I loved how it showed their struggles and how they still tried to trust in God through them. Even though they still made mistakes and distanced themselves from God at times, they always came back and reconciled their mistakes.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good read for young girls (ages 9-12). 4 different girls, all athletes with aspirations of the Olympics. It's a bit dated, but not too bad. The themes of dealing with loss, bullying, etc still resonate regardless of when this book was published. All in all, a light read for young ladies.

[Abigail Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good. I haven't read contemporary in a long time and it was a good switch. It was so good to have a book with Christian girls who love sports so much. The author did such a good job with the characters that I felt like I knew them. Sometimes it felt like I was right with Jenna doing that side Ariel. If you like sports I would definitely recommend this book.

[Angela Thornburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Upbeat fun stories

The set of stories gives the reader an idea of what it’s like to start out as an a potential Olympic candidate. It tells about the brutal hours, hard work, home schooling and competition. It’s an upbeat feel good book.

[Caitie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This reads very young, there’s no depth at all. The girls in this books faced no real challenges in their sports life—no hard coaches, they seem to “win,” a lot, etc. Thjs is definitely geared towards younger girls (elementary school age).

[Vie]

My Review of Girls Only

This book deserves to be read. Not only did I find it interesting, but it was educational as well. The characters are well-written, relatable, and lovable.

[Sydney Wendel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read was Girls Only volume one, by Beverly Lewis. This book was a good book. It was how these four girls in a group overcome difficult situations on there path to the Olympics. One girl moves away from her hometown shortly after her mother dies, while she tries to work on her ice scatting career. Another girl has to decide weather to meet her new adopted brother or go to a huge gymnastic meet. The third girl chooses to go solo which ruins her relationship with her ice dancing partner, her brother. And the last girl has to help her mother while she's in the hospital with a broken leg, while trying to work for her skiing competition. These girls end up making the right moves to make it closer to their Olympic dreams.

[Megsprincess87 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute book for young girls. It chronicled the lives of a group of girls, who became best friends,united by a common dream to make it to the olympics in their respected sports. It incoporated faith and God into the challenges each girl faced with their families, friends, school, and sport.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this in the Junior Fiction section at my library. Becuase of this, there was not really any suspence. But, all in all, it was an ok book that really brought God into the picutre/

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed other Beverly Lewis books, but this seems like it's written on such an elementary level and the stories are so predictable.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a group of four novellas about four athletic friends; a different girl is focused on in each one, but it combines into one storyline. It's quite cute and family friendly.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for middle school girls who like sports

[Corinna W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book rocks my world!!! I feel the same as the girls do!!

[Lia · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow. This book was very exciting to re-read again. And i'm happy I did!

[Natalie R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very good book about 4 girls who all live in the same city, meet each other and then start a club. Each girl has a atletic goal, and trust in God to help them achieve it.