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Gold Medal Dreams #2
Now or Never
Book Two in an exciting Olympic trilogy!
Tori tries to ignore the terrible news from her doctors. Her heart is set on winning a medal at the national competition--and a place on the U.S. Olympic team. She's determined not to let anything get in her way. But it's hard keeping her illness a secret from her friends. Especially when there's a nosy reporter asking questions about her health.
The pressure of competing at Nationals is difficult for any skater to handle. And Tori is sick--very sick. Does she have the strength to make her dream come true?
Tori tries to ignore the terrible news from her doctors. Her heart is set on winning a medal at the national competition--and a place on the U.S. Olympic team. She's determined not to let anything get in her way. But it's hard keeping her illness a secret from her friends. Especially when there's a nosy reporter asking questions about her health.
The pressure of competing at Nationals is difficult for any skater to handle. And Tori is sick--very sick. Does she have the strength to make her dream come true?
- GenresFigure Skating
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 1, 2026
Melissa Lowell “Now or Never” is the second book in the Gold Medal Dreams Silver Blades fiction book miniseries. The book was published by Batam Books in 1998. The book’s main characters are teenager Tori Carsen, her mother Corrine Carsen, stepsister Veronica, and Russian citizen Natalia Cherkas who loves ice skating and lived as a visitor in the Corrine Carden home with Tori and Veronica. Natalia Cherkas’ father is a diplomat stationed in Washington DC. The book features Tori’s activities in Philadelphia to be selected as one of three U.S. female skaters to perform in the international Olympics.
Tori’s stepfather Roger contacted a medical muscle specialist to examine Tori the day after they arrived in Philadelphia. Based on blood tests and X-rays Dr. Wycliffe told Tori and her family that Tori has myotonic muscular dystrophy. Tori had many friends who traveled to Philadelphia to watch her skating qualification performances. They included schoolmates and Silver Blade skaters Haley Author, Jill Wong, Nikki Simon and competitor Amber Armstrong the mini-Tori. After arriving Carrie Carden and her daughter met a new Doctor, and he told them he would rerun the lab tests that were done under the oversight of Dr. Wycliffe. The tests were positive. The next day Tori performed a short program at the Nationals and received a third-place score. When Amber finished 1st place, Tori dropped to 4th place. Tori and her mother received a report from Dr. Mitchell that she has Myotonic muscular dystrophy. He told her “Your hands may have a delayed ability to unclasp…. It will feel like a spasm.” Tori told her friend about her dystrophy prognosis; and Tori’s mother told her she will talk to Coach Daniel and then take her out of the Nationals. Tori told her mother not to say anything to her coach. She said “I want to skate and be in the Olympics. When Tori went to the long skating practice session, her friend Haley greeted her and she waved a business card at her while saying a Time magazine sports reporter wants to interview her! On the back of the card, she read a handwritten note:” Meet me in the coffee shop at 12:30 for lunch.” Tori was ecstatic when she read the note. At the restaurant she met the Time Magazine reporter Marianne. During lunch the Time reporter asked Tori, “How long do you have Tori… before you’re confined to a wheelchair?” Tori told her, “I’m healthy as a horse.” Marianne knew all about Tori’s diagnosis and she knew about Tori’s commitment to achieve skating excellence. Tori told the reporter that her mother is “very protective.” She then said, “I have been working to compete in the Olympics all my life, and I’m about to make my dreams come true.” They talked about the Silver Blades training club, her coach, and her drive to excel. She also talked about her family and friends. After finishing eating pasta and salad they went together to the practice rink where Tori worked on her long program. Marianne called a photographer and had him meet them at the skate rink. Tori was feeling very strong after the lunch. Marianne chatted with Tori’s friends and family. She did a great skating performance and Marianne told Tori, “What a great skater you are.” The next day the Time Magazine story was in print and delivered to newsstands. When the Time Magazine arrived at the hotel newsstand Tori read the magazine headline: “Can This Skater Go On? Muscle Disease May Cut Short Tori’s Career” The magazine story had a picture of Tori with her hand on the ice, bent over in an awkward position with a contorted look of confusion and fear. Despite the fall her overall short program technical merit and presentation scores were exceptionally high. Tori was shocked by the article and the picture of her fall. She considered quitting the U.S. National competition, but after visiting with her mother and teammates, she reconsidered and performed in the long program. In the long program Tori made 2 triple-triple jumps in the combination and the audience went wild! Tori had made skating history making the two triple-triples. Her winning scores in the long program qualified her to skate in the Olympics with teammates Amber Armstrong and Tracy Wilkins When Tori’s mother embraced her after the performance, Tori “went blank” and passed out. The novel ends when she became unconscience. Her passing out and skating performance sets the stage for book # 3 in the Gold Medal Dreams Silver Blades series. The book # 3 title is “Chance of a Lifetime.” (P)
Tori’s stepfather Roger contacted a medical muscle specialist to examine Tori the day after they arrived in Philadelphia. Based on blood tests and X-rays Dr. Wycliffe told Tori and her family that Tori has myotonic muscular dystrophy. Tori had many friends who traveled to Philadelphia to watch her skating qualification performances. They included schoolmates and Silver Blade skaters Haley Author, Jill Wong, Nikki Simon and competitor Amber Armstrong the mini-Tori. After arriving Carrie Carden and her daughter met a new Doctor, and he told them he would rerun the lab tests that were done under the oversight of Dr. Wycliffe. The tests were positive. The next day Tori performed a short program at the Nationals and received a third-place score. When Amber finished 1st place, Tori dropped to 4th place. Tori and her mother received a report from Dr. Mitchell that she has Myotonic muscular dystrophy. He told her “Your hands may have a delayed ability to unclasp…. It will feel like a spasm.” Tori told her friend about her dystrophy prognosis; and Tori’s mother told her she will talk to Coach Daniel and then take her out of the Nationals. Tori told her mother not to say anything to her coach. She said “I want to skate and be in the Olympics. When Tori went to the long skating practice session, her friend Haley greeted her and she waved a business card at her while saying a Time magazine sports reporter wants to interview her! On the back of the card, she read a handwritten note:” Meet me in the coffee shop at 12:30 for lunch.” Tori was ecstatic when she read the note. At the restaurant she met the Time Magazine reporter Marianne. During lunch the Time reporter asked Tori, “How long do you have Tori… before you’re confined to a wheelchair?” Tori told her, “I’m healthy as a horse.” Marianne knew all about Tori’s diagnosis and she knew about Tori’s commitment to achieve skating excellence. Tori told the reporter that her mother is “very protective.” She then said, “I have been working to compete in the Olympics all my life, and I’m about to make my dreams come true.” They talked about the Silver Blades training club, her coach, and her drive to excel. She also talked about her family and friends. After finishing eating pasta and salad they went together to the practice rink where Tori worked on her long program. Marianne called a photographer and had him meet them at the skate rink. Tori was feeling very strong after the lunch. Marianne chatted with Tori’s friends and family. She did a great skating performance and Marianne told Tori, “What a great skater you are.” The next day the Time Magazine story was in print and delivered to newsstands. When the Time Magazine arrived at the hotel newsstand Tori read the magazine headline: “Can This Skater Go On? Muscle Disease May Cut Short Tori’s Career” The magazine story had a picture of Tori with her hand on the ice, bent over in an awkward position with a contorted look of confusion and fear. Despite the fall her overall short program technical merit and presentation scores were exceptionally high. Tori was shocked by the article and the picture of her fall. She considered quitting the U.S. National competition, but after visiting with her mother and teammates, she reconsidered and performed in the long program. In the long program Tori made 2 triple-triple jumps in the combination and the audience went wild! Tori had made skating history making the two triple-triples. Her winning scores in the long program qualified her to skate in the Olympics with teammates Amber Armstrong and Tracy Wilkins When Tori’s mother embraced her after the performance, Tori “went blank” and passed out. The novel ends when she became unconscience. Her passing out and skating performance sets the stage for book # 3 in the Gold Medal Dreams Silver Blades series. The book # 3 title is “Chance of a Lifetime.” (P)
November 25, 2018
A reread of something from my childhood. I remember that I loved it and found the content very novel but now I find it a little simplistic and am worried about how the disability representation might read
November 19, 2012
The thrilling tale of a girl who gets MD and still tries to compete in Nationals.
Wait a second... this isn't Skate School.
Yeah Nikki and the rest are tons more realistic than Skate School. Silver Blades is a CLUB not a school. This somehow makes it more believable, even though Jill does go to the Ice Academy in book 4, you can see that it was hard work to get there, not a chance meeting with the director.
Tori gets a Red Disease (Infection reference - best game EVER) but, contrary to her mother's wishes, still decides to compete in Nationals and be in for a chance to go to the Olympics. She, of course, gets in, but she has to undergo extreme physical pain in order to do so.
Wait a second... this isn't Skate School.
Yeah Nikki and the rest are tons more realistic than Skate School. Silver Blades is a CLUB not a school. This somehow makes it more believable, even though Jill does go to the Ice Academy in book 4, you can see that it was hard work to get there, not a chance meeting with the director.
Tori gets a Red Disease (Infection reference - best game EVER) but, contrary to her mother's wishes, still decides to compete in Nationals and be in for a chance to go to the Olympics. She, of course, gets in, but she has to undergo extreme physical pain in order to do so.
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September 19, 2008a truely awesome book!!!
July 24, 2012
I think this is a really good book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews