The Happiest Girl in the World

by Alena Dillon

From the acclaimed author of Mercy House comes a gripping new novel about a young woman’s dreams of Olympic gymnastic gold—and what it takes to reach the top

 

For Sera Wheeler, the Olympics is the reason for everything. It’s why she trains thirty hours a week, starves herself to under 100 pounds, and pops Advil like Tic Tacs.

For her mother, Charlene,  hungry for glory she never had, it’s why she rises before dawn to drive Sera to practice in a different state, and why the family scrimps, saves, and fractures. It’s why, when Sera’s best friend reports the gymnastics doctor to the authority who selects the Olympic Team, Sera denies what she knows about his treatments, thus preserving favor.

Their friendship shatters. But Sera protected her dream—didn’t she?

Sera doubles down, taping broken toes, numbing torn muscles, and pouring her family’s resources into the sport. Soon she isn’t training for the love of gymnastics. She’s training to make her disloyalty worthwhile. No matter the cost.

The Happiest Girl in the World explores the dark history behind an athlete who stands on the world stage, biting gold. It's about the silence required of the exceptional, a tarnished friendship, and the sacrifices a parent will make for a child, even as a family is torn apart. It’s about the price of greatness.

Genres: Fiction, Sports, Contemporary, Adult, Audiobook, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2021

About the author

Alena Dillon is the author of Mercy House, The Happiest Girl in the World, My Body Is A Big Fat Temple, and Eyes Turned Skyward. Alena lives with her family on the north shore of Boston.

Reviews

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I finished reading this book about a week ago and I wanted to hold off on writing a review in order to gather my thoughts on the story. The author draws much of the story from the big scandals in the U.S. Gymnastics program and that somehow manages to be both the strength and weakness of this novel. I'll try my best to explain what I mean by that in a bit.

Sera Wheeler and her friend, Lucy, have dreams of competing in the Olympics as part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team. They train for 30 hours a week, adhere to a strict diet, and constantly battle thru the pain of their injuries. Their families have made great sacrifices for them as well as it's not a cheap sport when you add in money spent on coaches, the travelling expenses for competitions, fancy leotards, etc.. When Lucy tells the adults running the elite gymnastics program that one of the doctors has been molesting her, Sera is faced with a decision to make. She can either speak up and back up her friend, or keep quiet so she doesn't make waves and potentially lose her spot on the team.

If you have followed the case in the news, it no doubt infuriates you that there were so many victims because adults decided to turn a blind eye. This story mostly follows Sera but there are some chapters devoted to her mother. Both the child and adult's perspectives serve a purpose as they show the intensity of that elite level of competitive sports and that win at all costs attitude. The author does a great job showing the contributing factors that led to this tragedy and why such evil people were able to get away with it for so long.

The book has a bit of a ripped from the headlines feel to it, similar to the famous cases the Law & Order shows tackle in episodes. While the names of the guilty were changed, the names of some current and former gymnasts appear throughout the story. The story feels like it belongs in both regular fiction and historical fiction genres. While I do think the book was written with the best of intentions, at times I felt uncomfortable reading it. I've been struggling to figure out the exact reasons for why I felt that way. I guess it's because I kept wondering if the victims are okay with essentially an outsider writing about this tragedy. I hope they see the value in this book rather than feel like it's exploitative in nature.

Thank you to William Morrow for providing me with an advance copy! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Happiest Girl in the World is an engaging and intense novel about a gymnast’s journey to the Olympics. All Sera has ever wanted is to go medal at the Olympics. Sera’s mom shares her dream and will do anything to help Sera succeed. Sera’s best friend has been training beside her for years until she reports her doctor for sexual assault. This affects their friendship and Sera has to choose between standing up for her best friend or supporting the sport that she loves. The book follows Sera’s triumphs and failures. The darker side of gymnastics is discussed throughout the book while Sera achieves her dreams. The Happiest Girl in the World is told from the perspectives of Sera and her mother, Charlene. This was the first book I’ve read that mentions the pandemic. It is mentioned briefly at the end. The Happiest Girl in the World is a must read for fans of the Olympics and gymnastics. I felt like I got to learn more about the sport. The Happiest Girl in the World is a story of fighting for your goals and friendship. This book is difficult to read at times but very enjoyable overall.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Frankie Corzo and Mikhaila Aaseng and they both did a great job. They were the perfect voices for Sera and Charlene.

Thank you William Morrow and Harper Audio for The Happiest Girl in the World.

Full Review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...

[Berit☀️✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Real and raw, sometimes heartbreaking, occasionally brutal look at competitive gymnastics. This book had a definite ripped from the headlines vibe to it with all the recent devastating news that has come out of the US gymnastics world. As Young girls Sarah and Lucy were queens of the gym. They could stretch further, leap higher, land steadier, and twist further than any other girl their age. This put the girls on the elite track of gymnastics training. Long distances, grueling hours, pain, sweat, tears, and accolades. The girls spend their summers away at gymnastics camp where they encountered the most intense training of all. They also encountered a revered US gymnastics Doctor Who miss treated the girls terribly. When Lucy decides to speak up against the doctor Sarah has to make the decision to stand by her best friend or pursue her dream of Olympic gold.

I’ve always had a love of the Olympics and in particular the gymnastics. This book does not pull any punches. It was truly about the ugly side of gymnastics the hours of training, the working through injuries, The food deprivation, the pill popping, the complete sacrifice of a normal childhood. Not to mention the impact it has on the athletes family both emotionally and financially. The story is told from the point of view of primarily Sarah with her mother’s perspective occasionally sprinkled in. Sarah was so incredibly driven. I can’t say I liked or disliked her as a character but I did admire her strength and tenacity. The lengths she was willing to go for her dream were uncomprehendible. Her mother I struggled with a little more. I just felt like she got so myopic and was willing to sacrifice her daughter for this Olympic dream that somehow became hers? This really was an extremely well told story about the exorbitant price of success. The audiobook is narrated by bothFrankie Corps and Mikhalia Who did a stellar job of bringing the voices of these characters to life.

*** Big thank you to William Morrow and Harper Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. *** Aseng

[DeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Olympic dream stars

Sera and her best friend Lucy are aspiring Olympians, putting in countless hours in the gym to reach the Olympic team one day. Most are probably familiar with many elements of this book for gymnasts: food deprivation, medication, relentless training, injuries, expense, and abuse by doctors.

It was hard to read at times, especially knowing that similar things really happened to many young women and many turned the other way rather than helping these athletes. We get the perspective mostly from Sera, but a few chapters from her mother and how important it was to her that Sera succeed. Her family makes countless sacrifices. It was also agony seeing the perspective of Sera’s parents and wondering if the doctor treated Sera inappropriately.

Through all of this, I rooted hard for Sera to overcome many obstacles she faced. When her friend Lucy accuses the doctor, does Sera stand by her or stay silent to preserve her place as an Olympic candidate?

I have always loved watching the Olympics, but I have a different lens now after reading this book. I hope that the sport and the Olympic committees continue to reform.

Thank you to Book Club Girls/William Morrow and Custom House for the gifted copy of this one.

[Meg ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ page 177


i refuse to read any further, this book has made me so so angry. you don’t get to commandeer the trauma of real lif people, NAME THEM, and use it in your book for profit. this book made me feel sick, will talk more about it on my yt wrap up of my 30 days challenge

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book didn’t pull any punches. This book, while a novel, closely portrays real events including the sexual abuse of dozens young girl gymnasts and the people who looked the other way. But this book focuses less on that sexual abuse (although it does play a strong role) and it focuses more on the intense abuse the young girls put themselves through in order to reach for the gold. Sera stumbled upon gymnastics at a young age and her mother saw her chance for her child to be great. Sera’s whole family sacrifices to get the coaching and equipment she needs and Sera works herself to the bone and starves herself to be great. Sera was a good narrator and while it was hard to like her at times I always felt bad for her. I really liked the ending and the brief overview of what her life was after gymnastics.

[Ashley *Booksbrewsandbarks* · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 rounding down to 2. I was really looking forward to this book but, as someone who has followed the Larry Nasser scandal and watched/read a lot of information on the events leading up to it, a majority of this book was mirroring that case, even down to minute details. The parts that weren't focused on the sexual abuse scandal were written really well and I would have loved to see how much more developed the plot and characters would've been if the focus wasn't weighed so heavily on the case that so many people area already familiar with.

I had hoped for more depth into the mother/daughter relationship as well as the impact that Sera's life in gymnastics had on her family as a whole. Also, I felt like the repercussions of gymnastics in terms of Sera's obvious eating disorder and self harm were skated by, used as caveats to move onto the next section relating to the abuse scandal.

One of the reasons covering the scandal in this fictionalized fashion irks me is the fact that it's not the author's story to tell. There are so many victims out there that could provide so much more emotion and insight into the abuse and the world that nurtured said abuse but I can't get over the fact that the author herself is not only not one of those victims but not a gymnast herself, relying only on the insight from someone vaguely attached to the world to tell the story of so many others. I would hate for someone to read this book but not read a memoir from one of the victims solely because they feel like they already know enough from this tale. It is an injustice really and its angering that someone else is profiting from their sufferance.

This book had a lot of potential, an ability to shed insight into the painful and heartbreaking world of gymnastics that goes a lot deeper than the Nasser scandal. The writing was there but the plot seemed to take an easy way out, seemingly parroting the facts of the case back at the reader without justice. If you are looking for a true look into the gymnastics world and the lack of heart within it, I urge you to do your due diligence and read more books either from gymnasts themselves or people who have more connection with the world they were developed in.

[Nev · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found it really distasteful that this author chose to use the actual names and stories of the survivors of Larry Nassar and changed them to be about a fictional USA Gymnastics doctor. This wasn’t a situation where it was vaguely inspired by the actual abuse that happened. Alena Dillon literally writes that McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman were abused by “Dr. Eddie Levett.” She directly quoted Aly’s victim impact statement but made it about “Eddie.” All of the details of the case are basically the same except for his name and the Károlyis who became the Baloghs in the book.

You can absolutely write a book inspired by real life events. But this isn’t something that happened 100 years ago. These young women are still fighting battles because of their abuse. And it just seemed odd to take their actual names and actual stories and change them to be about a fictional doctor, but keep all the details the same. It felt like she just copied and pasted research about the actual case and then just replaced the name of the abuser. Aside from me finding the choice to use so much of the real case objectionable, it also just seemed lazy.

Outside of the real life case, the rest of the book was not good either. It was so overwritten. It seemed like the author was trying to be really poetic and use a lot of analogies and metaphors to describe how the main character felt about gymnastics. But it was so convoluted and difficult to follow. The way the author described the actual gymnastics was also confusing. When she would say a skill name I could picture what was happening. But when she was actually describing a movement without the official name I could not picture what was going on. I can’t imagine how confusing it would be for non-gymnastics fans to read.

AND ANOTHER THING, this was just full of outdated ideas about gymnastics. Like, in order to be a top level elite you have to be tiny and young. Of course those were ideas that people held for a long time, but in this day and age we see so many gymnasts who prove that isn’t the case. But the main character and the book itself never does anything to show how the sport is changing. Motherfucker have you heard of Oksana Chusovitina? She’s 46 years old and has competed at EIGHT Olympic Games. But it was barely brought up in the book how gymnasts are competing for longer and at older ages these days.

In the back of the book the author said that watching Larry Nassar’s trial is what made her want to write this book. And that she was a four year fan who only really watched gymnastics during the Olympics and not in between. I think that shows in this book. It felt like watching an old fluff piece from the 90s and not a modern day story about gymnastics.

[Jennifer nyc · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Sonya Heaney · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was horrifying, and I can only assume that the people giving it high ratings are unaware of what the author has done. 

Former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar is arguably the most prolific and infamous paedophile in history. The abuse by coaches Béla and Márta Károlyi has been known around the world for decades, and their letting Nassar get away with his crimes for so long was covered heavily in the press, and especially in Netflix documentary Athlete A. 

Author Alena Dillon has not written a work of fiction here. She’s simply taken the story as it is told in Athlete A, changed the names of the perpetrators, and kept absolutely everything else the same. INCLUDING THE REAL NAMES OF THE VICTIMS. She’s violating the victims all over again by writing about real people’s trauma, but now having them molested by “Eddie” rather than Larry. 
 
I thought this might be more like Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli (which I also thought was a little too close to the truth—but not like this), which was inspired by real events, but a work of fiction. It’s not. 

For example: 
 
* "Eddie” has the same physical description as Larry Nassar, right down to the hair on his hands. He has the same personality—talking nonstop through his “procedures” to distract everyone from what he was really doing. He, like Larry, ran his practice out of Michigan. EVEN THE WAY HE MOLESTS THE GIRLS IS EXACTLY THE SAME. 

* Here, the Hungarian-born, Romanian Károlyis who run USA Gymnastics out of an isolated ranch in Texas (where there’s no phone reception) become the Romanian Baloghs (a Hungarian name) who run USA Gymnastics out of an isolated ranch in Texas (where there’s no phone reception). Their physical descriptions and personalities match exactly, down to Béla’s moustache and Márta’s skin tone. The author has even copied Béla’s insults for his gymnasts straight out of Athlete A. 

* The author uses the real names of Larry’s real victims for “Eddie’s” victims. I’m going to take a guess that all those famous Olympic gymnasts she’s writing about being molested by “Eddie” didn’t give their permission to be violated like that. It’s is morally abhorrent to write about REAL PEOPLE being molested by an imaginary person. 

* The author has also lifted a whole lot of other things out of real life. For example, at Nassar’s sentencing hearing, real gymnast Mattie Larson talked about deliberately bashing her head in the bathroom to pretend she’d slipped in the shower so she could miss a training camp. Alena Dillon has one of her characters do this exact thing in her book. 

* The author also talks about Jordyn Wieber, whose coach was Nassar’s best friend, and who was molested by Nassar on a weekly basis. That coach later killed himself after being charged with child trafficking and sexual assault. Jordyn Wieber is A REAL PERSON, who this really happened to. The author had no shame in using a real person’s real trauma to create drama in her book. 

* The injuries and other experiences in the book are also lifted straight out of Athlete A. 

* Some of the gymnastics things are just wrong. Mckayla Maroney fell in the vault final at the 2012 Olympics and lost the gold medal everyone expected her to win. This REALLY HAPPENED, but the author changes the facts surrounding this REAL EVENT around. Why talk about a real person and then change well-documented (broadcast to millions!) real events? The author admits she’s not an expert on the sport, which begs the question: why did she think she was the right person to write this book? 

Imagine spending years and years being physically, emotionally and sexually abused by the Károlyis and by Nassar, and finding the courage to testify on live international TV about what happened to you. 

And then imagine that some author is sitting there watching you confess your most private, traumatic secrets, and thinking Hey. I might put all of this, word-for-word in my book?

I could go on, but basically, the book disgusted me. It’s not a work of fiction; it’s facts she got off a Netflix documentary. All she did was change the names of the three perpetrators. 

But she didn’t have the decency to change the names of the REAL VICTIMS.

This book is like the fanfiction schoolkids write about celebrities they like, but it’s worse. Because the author is an adult who should know better. And I think someone along the way—anyone, from the author to her agent to her editor to her publisher—should have stopped and thought they shouldn’t be using the real victims of a real paedophile for their own entertainment and profit. 

[Alena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book called my name on many levels — Olympics, gymnastics, real life people woven into a fictional story, the author’s first name — and it did not disappoint. I gobbled it up the way I do Olympic coverage. But now my eyes are opened wider to the perspective of “at what cost.”
Thought provoking, interesting, easy.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 STARS

I love gymnastics and books about gymnastics. I wanted THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD, one of my most anticipated 2021 books, to be a 5 star review I’d happily re-read. Instead, what I got was a book that seemed comprised of a checklist of hot button issues.

Alena Dillon merged fact with fiction, real gymnasts and the Larry Nassar trauma with made up characters who endured the same abuses. Simone Biles interacts with and competes against narrator Sera. THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD even had a fictional Karoli ranch. I didn’t like how Dillon used the gymnasts abuses, with their real names, as in the book. I’m a sexual abuser survivor and wouldn’t want my story, though part of public record, in that way. In no part of the book does Dillon say the survivors’ stories were added with their permission. Just because you legally can, doesn’t mean you should.

THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD lacked heart. Though I liked Sera and rooted for her, even though I didn’t like some of what she did, Dillon’s writing felt removed from the emotion of the story. Her words were telling, not showing. Additionally, Sera’s issues with eating, pills, family and abuse were never really addressed. Several chapters were written in her stage-mom’s point of view, why, I couldn’t tell. They added nothing to the story.

I did enjoy reading parts of THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD and even considered possibility rating 2 stars, but I can’t think of a reason to recommend or praise the book, so I stuck with one star.

[Martina Primerano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing, incredibly well written, absorbing, interesting and emotional, it broke my heart a little and I'll surely reread it!

[Bill Kupersmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megan Abbott has written two brilliant novels about competitive sport. Dare Me featured the cheerleader captain Beth Cassidy and is the most intensive story set in an American high school that I’ve ever read. Abbott followed with You Will Know Me, with the teen gymnast Devon Knox. Alena Dillon’s The Happiest Girl in the World is very much in the same vein. We follow the gymnastic career of Sera Wheeler of Waynesville, Indiana, from age nine in 2010 to the postponed 2020 Olympics. Of course, any reader with even the slightest awareness of current events will expect to encounter the horrifying story of sexual abuse that besmirched US Gymnastics. Dillon portrays the evil sports doctor Larry Nassar under a pseudonym, but she has drawn some critical reviews for including athletes, some of whom were Nassar’s victims, with their real names. As so often these days, authors are accused of “appropriating” someone else’s story, but in fairness we should allow that it is simply impossible to write realistic gymnastic fiction in a contemporary setting without dealing with issues of sexual abuse and mentioning persons whose stories are matters of public record. The real athletes in this book have only cameo background roles. In this book the main victim is an invented character, Sera’s BF Lucy, who drops gymnastics after she is abused by the Nassar-character Eddie. But Sera’s mother refuses to believe Lucy’s story and urges her daughter to continue her training, having put the family up to its eyeballs in debt to make her a star athlete. Sera’s estrangement from Lucy, along with the injuries that threaten Sera’s career and her disgusting and boorish coach Lou, are the main obstacles Sera encounters. The narration is divided between Sera and her mother, a woman whose tastes are incredibly banal even by American midwestern standards. Sera’s voice is mostly generic American teenager, but times she attempts literary touches with unfortunate results, as her version of the familiar cliché:

“A thirteen - thousand - pound African bush elephant sat in the corner of the living room . It plunked down back when we knew that Lucy hadn’t lied for attention or the thrill of gossip , and that my mother , who was perhaps the primary reason I’d turned against my best friend , had been dead wrong . And the largest existing land mammal was going to stay between her and me , munching on twigs and fruit , until she acknowledged her mistake , and how her casual dismissal of Lucy’s claim continued to affect our lives .”

Yes, we can reckon that these girls are on the outs.

For what I might call the erotics of competition, this book has its moments. As with Dare Me, I often used YouTube to bring to life technicalities, such as “Arabian double front leap combo ; a roundoff into a back handspring and triple twist ; a roundoff into a back handspring , double layout, and front tuck.” But for sheer intensity I still prefer Beth Cassidy to Sera Wheeler, and for flat out courage my favorites remain Thea Atwell in Yohahlossee Riding Camp for Girls and the even more reckless Lee in Heather Lewis’s House Rules. For a school story, I’m trying to create a WLAX player to rival their headlong fearlessness.

[Stacy40pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Happiest Girl in the World by Alena Dillon. Thanks to @williammorrow and @edelweiss for the e-Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sera Wheeler has loved gymnastics all her life. Her and her best friend, Lucy, are Olympics bound. All this may change when the gymnastics doctor is accused of sexual abuse.

When I read rom-com Head Over Heels, I enjoyed the gymnastics aspect of the story. That was really just a taste. This book really dived in. I wasn’t familiar with all the techniques and moves, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the story. I also took breaks to watch gymnastics routines. That was one of the awesome things about the book. While it wasn’t a true story, it took place during real times. For example, it’s in today’s world... with real gymnastics and Olympic history. Many famous gymnasts are mentioned throughout.. Simone Biles, Shawn Johnson , etc. The traumatic experience that took place with the gymnasts seemed to mirror the current events of Larry Nasser (🤢). The story follows a gymnast from childhood to adulthood, and we see the determination and strong spirit that these girls grow up with... regardless of predators such as Nasser. It’s incredible and worth a read for sure.

“Your mother, who you thought loved your father, could trick him. Your father, who you thought was smart, could fall for it. And a doctor, who you thought was good, could be the most dangerous person in your life.”

The Happiest Girl in the World comes out 4/20.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a parent, plan to be one or just as an athlete in school or college, this book will send shivers and leave you with the strongest instincts of wanting to protect yourself, your child or future children. It’s haunting that there are parents out there that will push their child to the limit, their health to its brink and have the child literally sacrificing their lives for a win? A medal? A title? I’ve seen it myself in both my family and friends and I’ve pleaded and cried to help the children. This is the story that tells you to what extent just about anyone will go to, to win it all! And the fact that this is in gymnastics shouldn’t make you forget that this does occur in so many junior sports.

[Susan Ballard (subakkabookstuff) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although fiction, this reads like narrative nonfiction, like it was ripped right out of the headlines - because Alena Dillon based a large part of it off the scandal that rocked women’s gymnastics when a trusted doctor was found guilty of sexual abuse in 2017.

The story follows Sera and Lucy as they chase their dreams to become Olympic gymnasts. From the tender age of six, they are training, dieting, and working hard to be “elite.” Over the years, the two girls become close friends, even as they compete for that coveted spot on the Olympic Team. We see how their journey affects family, as well, and we get Sera’s mother’s point of view, who was living vicariously through Sera and needed a reality check.

Injuries plague Sera over the years, and Lucy becomes emotionally withdrawn, but the two friends continue to support one another. But when Lucy makes an allegation against the team doctor, Sera makes a choice that could sever their friendship forever.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 takes an honest, hard look at this competitive sport, and what these athletes must sacrifice and endure for the hope of the “Gold.”

My heart went out to Sera and Lucy, and I flipped through this one wanting to see how their story would end. Though the ending seemed a bit condensed and hurried, I still felt this was a gripping read, especially in concurrence with the summer Olympics.

Thank you to @letstalkbookspromo @williammorrowbooks and @alena.dillon for an invitation to this tour and a digital copy.

[Madeline (always_reading1) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story! I loved how COVID-19 was brought up too.

[Kristen Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC of The Happiest Girl in the World by Alena Dillon. A 5 Star Must Read!

If you read Alena Dillon's previous novel, Mercy House, you know she doesn't shy away from tackling tough subjects head-on, and this book is no exception. The Happiest Girl in the World follows the journey of Sera Wheeler, a young, determined, Olympic Gymnast hopeful. This story begs the question...how far are you willing to go, how much are you willing to hide, and who are you willing to hurt to become one of the world's top elite athletes?

Combining real-life events (the Olympic Gymnast Doctor sexual abuse scandal, COVID-19, etc) with the dramatic and heart-wrenching story of Sera's rise to the top, Alena Dillion created a novel that grabs the reader from the very first page and has you holding on tight until the final page. I was at times both rooting for Sera to make it all the way to the Olympics and at the same time, wishing she would recognize the non-reversible harm she was doing to herself and call it quits.

This was the first book I've read that shows the potential world after COVID-19. It's interesting to me how Alena most likely had to completely re-write part of this novel based on the true-life turn of events of 2020, the Olympic Games, and more. This book is definitely one to pick up and devour - publish date is April 2021.

[Analisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

actual rating is more of a 2.75 .

this book was incredibly hard to get through at first. it made me seriously uncomfortable how it was half fiction, half non-fiction. it was confusing, and made me want to cringe at some points. i recognize that some people love that aspect of it, to which i say : honestly to each their own. i enjoyed other aspects of the book that did not reference real people, real situations, or real life circumstances.

i think the story has a lot of value and there were important lessons throughout it, but i truly struggled to enter into the story when I was constantly bugged by the fact that we were talking about fictional Sera Wheeler trying to get a spot on the Olympic team with Simone Biles and Aly Raisman. I wish they had kept it all fictional, with all fake names, with allusions to the real thing. I probably would have rated it higher if it did.

Nonetheless, I don’t regret reading it and I think there is a good moral at the end of the story. I’m glad that I am done with it, though.

[Jodie | GeauxGetLit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the perfect read before the start of the Summer Olympics! If you love gymnastics as much as I do then this is a must read. This was a fictional novel, however it did resemble what closely happened in the real life US gymnastics. It also portrays just how much Elite athletes struggle with on a daily basis just to make it to the Olympics. There is no time to being a kid when you are an elite. Is it worth it?

[Brianna - Four Paws and a Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up!

I'm very conflicted about the rating of this book. On one hand, it's pulled straight from real life and the story is quite literally the same story as what happened with USA gymnastics, Larry Nassar and the Kayroli ranch. It was a weird blend of reality, using the names of actual olympic team members and what was happening in the world (including COVID conversations and quarantine lockdown), but at the same time, this book was so readable and I sailed through this book. I was invested in the characters and while some of the choices the author made may not have been the choices I would have made, I get it and it's a careful balance the author had to walk between bringing these issues to light, while not stepping on toes and telling a story that isn't there, and I think the author did a good job of that. If you are interested in what has happened in USA Gymnastics, I recommend this book.

[ᒪᗴᗩᕼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

❐ Overall Rating 4½⭐ | Narration 😁 = Very Good
❐ Narrated by Frankie Corzo & Mikhaila Aaseng
❐ Listening Length: 8H 56M
❐ Realistic Contemporary Fiction
❐ Based in truth --ripped from the headlines
❐ Gymnastics

A story that deals with the good, the bad, and the contemptuousness that comes with being an elite athlete in the sport of gymnastics. Highlighting the years and trials that one gymnast faces in her career. From her start in grade school to the Larry Nassar sex scandal to the canceling of the 2020 Olympics because of Covid and beyond. The author basically takes actual events that transpired in the world of gymnastics and adds her fictional characters to them.

I love Gymnastics despite not being able to go very far, or barely start, in the sport myself (I’m not stretchy), so this was fascinating to me. I found this to be a convincing account of what it would be like to compete at an Olympic level in this sport. Although I wanted the MC to be a little bit nicer...but...we all know...

Well, at least, if you’ve seen Stick It.


🅒🅐🅦🅟🅘🅛🅔 8.71/❿
🅒haracters ￫ 8
🅐tmosphere ￫ 9
🅦riting ￫ 9
🅟lot ￫ 9
🅘ntrigue ￫ 9
🅛ogic ￫ 8.5
🅔njoyment ￫ 8.5

[Kim Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic! Not only is it very topical but it provided a fascinating window into the life of a fictional elite gymnast and her journey to becoming an Olympic hopeful. My heart broke for Sera, her family, and for her friend Lucy. I loved the peak inside her mother Charlene’s mind- both as a northern midwesterner and as a stage-mom, for lack of a better term. There was a lot for me to relate to, not as an elite athlete, but as someone who has pursued and achieved a (somewhat) difficult childhood dream blindly.

Dillon is impressive for the research that she did to create this book and for her character construction. I also greatly admire her writing style and would love to read more of her work, both backlist and future projects.

[Zoe H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well written account of the under belly of gymnastics. The Author did a great job of leveraging real life events that happened with Nassar and his victims. She brought is into what probably felt like in addition to the immense and intense demands of training to be an Olympic hopeful. Great read!

[Basic B's Guide · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look inside the dark side of competitive gymnastics. How far will an athlete, her coach and her parents go for a Gold medal? We all know that elite athletes sacrifice a lot but at what price is it worth? Dillon writes of young Sera and her fifteen year journey to the Olympic podium. This book is not the easiest to read at times. I did get a clear picture of the determination these young women have. Nonetheless, I’m left quite unsettled and felt a disconnect from the abuse involved. I had high expectations for this one but it missed the mark for me.

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Happiest Girl in the World" follows Sera, a gymnast training for the Olympics. The story is about the ultimate cost of how Sera drives herself too hard, sacrifices her childhood, the toll it takes on her body, and the stress it takes on her family. The book dives into the abusive culture of USA Gymnastics when Sera's best friend, who is also a gymnast, is sexually abused by the team's doctor. Because of the sport's culture, girls are encouraged to be silent and obedient. It's very cringy, but it's powerful because you can see how innocent the girls are. Sera spends the rest of the novel punishing herself for staying quiet.

There was a lot of gymnastics in the book, so the reader gets the opportunity to live in those tense moments with the characters when there's so much at stake in every movement. I felt like I was there rotating around the bars with them, hoping my hands didn't slip off. This element brings the physical and emotional aspects of gymnastics together, making it a powerful experience. I also thought it was interesting how the author profiled a family to show the effects and costs of the sport. They put everything they had into one girl's success. It makes you see what can happen to a child when the whole financial ecosystem of a family relies on one child's performance in a sport that could have been something fun and safe.

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/ale...

[Nnenna | notesbynnenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

Growing up I loved watching gymnastics during the Olympics (and actually, I love the Olympics in general). I thought the gymnasts were so beautiful and powerful, a winning combination. But I didn’t think a lot about what happened between the Olympics, how they had to train and push and train some more. So when I read that this book was about a young girl who dreams of being an Olympic gymnast, I was really looking forward to reading it.

We follow our main character, Sera, over the course of about fifteen years as she chases her Olympic journey. The story is mainly told from her perspective, although there are a few chapters from her mom’s perspective throughout. I understand what the purpose of these chapters was, but I didn’t like her mom’s chapters nearly as much.
As soon as the famous gymnastics doctor appears on the scene, I felt some dread, as it’s clear that this character was modeled after Larry Nassar and the truths that came to light about him. Throughout the book, she has such a single-minded focus on her goal and we see how it affects the relationships with her family and her best friend, Lucy.

About 2/3rds of the way through, I wasn’t sure where the story was going to go because it felt like the main event had happened, so I do think the book was perhaps a bit too long and could have been tightened. I also encountered my first mention of Covid-19 in a book and I’m not sure how I feel about it!

There’s so much pain and struggle and sacrifice in Sera’s story and the main question is: is it all worth it? It really made me think about elite athletes and everything they put their bodies through in the name of sport. How do they determine if the rewards outweigh the sacrifices? I certainly will never be an elite athlete (just the thought of it makes me lol), but I did like being in the mind of one for a few hundred pages.

CW: sexual abuse, disordered eating

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD: A NOVEL is a very interesting book. It is about the underlying tragedy of the Olympics. It is horrible that the unethical treatments went unnoticed for so long. There are more life-long tragedies that are involved.

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

THGITW is a propulsive story loosely based on the events surrounding Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics national team doctor and convicted serial rapist and sex offender. This case was eye opening to say the least - it was completely heartbreaking and infuriating to learn about the abuse these young women were subjected to.

In Dillon’s sophomore novel, I knew to expect another winner as I just adored reading Mercy House. This time, Dillon takes us into the dark underbelly of competitive elite gymnastics world through the eyes of main character Sera Wheeler.

Dillon wrote with so much heart addressing the harsh realities that these young women go through. But to what cost? The detail of the writing was exquisite that I felt every jump, tumble and landing. This book was executed well and definitely a top finisher for me.