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Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion
Every once in a while, a truly charismatic gymnast comes along, like Olga Korbut, Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton -- and Dominique Moceanu. This 70-pound acrobatic marvel became the youngest U.S. national gymnastics champion ever at the age of 13, and is poised to take the entire gymnastics world by storm with new moves of amazing difficulty. She's also a crowd-pleasing performer who likes to have a good time while she competes. Young gymnasts will enjoy this book about her life, training and love of gymnastics.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
3 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Dominique Moceanu
13 books48 followersDominique Helena Moceanu is an American author and retired American gymnast. She was a member of the gold-medal-winning United States women's gymnastics team (the "Magnificent Seven") at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 30, 2020
Quick read about the American gymnast Dominique Moceanu, written by her prior to the 1996 Olympics. The writing style is clearly written by a 14 year old, and reads similarly to a diary entry.
Decades later, we know of the emotional abuse gymnasts suffered by the Karolyis. In the book, Moceanu describes them in a positive light -- which reflects her age.
The book is good for a quick glimpse of Moceanu's life, and would be good for an elementary school aged child. However I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book to an adult. The book is good for what it is, but lacks the depth and details i was hoping for.
Decades later, we know of the emotional abuse gymnasts suffered by the Karolyis. In the book, Moceanu describes them in a positive light -- which reflects her age.
The book is good for a quick glimpse of Moceanu's life, and would be good for an elementary school aged child. However I wouldn't necessarily recommend the book to an adult. The book is good for what it is, but lacks the depth and details i was hoping for.
February 14, 2018
A quick read and I learned a few things about gymnastics I didn't know before. You can tell from reading this book that it's the autobiography of a 15-year-old but that's one of the things I liked about it. So many "autobiographies" are written with professional writers who completely change the tone of the book. This one is true to that of a teenager. I remember watching Dominique and the rest of the team in the '96 Olympics. She's a fun gymnast to watch because she does so obviously enjoy performing. Gymnastics is one of my favorite events to watch but I hate how much these kids sacrifice to excel in the sport. Everything else is second to the sport. In the book, Moceanu talks about a typical day's meals and it doesn't seem nearly enough to sustain any kid, much less a top athlete. Just the time involved in practice is ridiculous. These kids need to be able to be kids, relax and just have fun outside of the gym. So much focus so early on is too hard on them and tends to leave them lost when their competitive career is over, usually in their late teens. Moceanu has had a lot of problems, including a lawsuit against her parents over money, stemming from her success at such a young age. Hopefully, she'll be able to get past the hardships and lead a successful adulthood in whatever she chooses to pursue.
November 15, 2020
At the age of thirteen, Dominique Moceanu became the youngest United States national gymnastics champion ever, bursting into the spotlight with awe-inspiring performances. In this autobiography, Dominique talks about her passion for the sport, about her teammates, about her intensive training schedule, about her life in and out of the gym.
Included are an introduction by Bella Karolyi, a timeline of Dominique’s gymnastic journey, photographs of her family and from competition [all with an explanatory comment], a list of Dominique’s favorite things, a guide to gymnastic events and scoring, and basic gymnastic moves and positions.
This book reads like a teenager's diary, which pulls the reader into the story and makes them feel as if the gymnast is talking directly to them. None of the much-later-revealed harshness and mistreatment by the coaches is included here; rather, it’s a sort of a love story to the sport from one of its shining stars.
Included are an introduction by Bella Karolyi, a timeline of Dominique’s gymnastic journey, photographs of her family and from competition [all with an explanatory comment], a list of Dominique’s favorite things, a guide to gymnastic events and scoring, and basic gymnastic moves and positions.
This book reads like a teenager's diary, which pulls the reader into the story and makes them feel as if the gymnast is talking directly to them. None of the much-later-revealed harshness and mistreatment by the coaches is included here; rather, it’s a sort of a love story to the sport from one of its shining stars.
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January 15, 2023This isn’t as much a review as me commemorating a book that had an oddly profound impact on my life.
You know how sometimes a kid will just fixate on something like a PBS special on the history of semi trucks, and they’ll want to watch nothing but that for like a year? That was me with this book in second grade, though as I recall I only reread it a couple times. To this day I have no idea what chord this book struck in me, a kid who failed every component of the Presidential Fitness Test every year, but it was the book that flipped the switch in me from “kid who enjoys reading” to “kid who spends every spare moment reading.” I even convinced my parents to let me take gymnastics because of it and really sucked at it. So thanks Dominique Moceanu.
You know how sometimes a kid will just fixate on something like a PBS special on the history of semi trucks, and they’ll want to watch nothing but that for like a year? That was me with this book in second grade, though as I recall I only reread it a couple times. To this day I have no idea what chord this book struck in me, a kid who failed every component of the Presidential Fitness Test every year, but it was the book that flipped the switch in me from “kid who enjoys reading” to “kid who spends every spare moment reading.” I even convinced my parents to let me take gymnastics because of it and really sucked at it. So thanks Dominique Moceanu.
January 5, 2022
Though this book is 128 pages long, I found the narrative dragging. But I must take into consideration that this book was based on the narrative of a child/young adolescent. So it would be unfair to expect the eloquence and smooth narrative as that of a matured writer.
Over all, I think it’s fine for children to read.
P.S. The chapters discussing Moceanu’s daily routine and management of schoolwork were the ones that piqued my interest.
Over all, I think it’s fine for children to read.
P.S. The chapters discussing Moceanu’s daily routine and management of schoolwork were the ones that piqued my interest.
December 22, 2019
Have loved gymnastics seeing the Magnificent Seven perform in Atlanta in 1996.
This book definitely sounded like it was written by a 15 year old. Now that much of the world knows about the harsh realities behind USA gymnastics and Karoyli’s gymnastics, the book definitely sounds as if much is glossed over.
This book definitely sounded like it was written by a 15 year old. Now that much of the world knows about the harsh realities behind USA gymnastics and Karoyli’s gymnastics, the book definitely sounds as if much is glossed over.
May 23, 2020
I got this book from a garage sale in elementary school and read it cover to cover so many times since I was such a huge gymnastics fan. It has great photos too. I like being able to do a side by side comparison of this book to her later "Off Balance" and "Off Balance" is so much better due to her brutal honesty.
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June 5, 2022I READ DOMINIQUE MOCEANU'S BOOK, SHE WAS ONE OF THE GOLD MEDAL GYMNASTS FROM THE USA TEAM THAT JUST BLEW UP THAT YEAR THEY WENT. HER PARENTS BASICALLY SPENT HER MONEY AND SHE HAD TO DO SO MUCH ON A HUGELY CALORIE CONTROLLED DIET AND IN ABUSIVE WAYS. IT WAS A VERY GOOD BOOK BUT SHE HAD TO GO THROUGH A LOT.
February 4, 2018
I read this book, because I was missing my daughter, who she reminded me of.
February 24, 2018
This is the best book ever, a must read!
March 21, 2021
Yikes. This certainly reads different than it did when I was 12, now with all the knowledge of how abused and oppressed Dominique was at the time of writing it.
August 2, 2023
An easy read. Fun to follow the life of this beautiful gymnast and learn more about her. 🌹
August 21, 2023
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
1990s me loved this book. I’m pretty sure I bought it at a scholastic book fair. Had to read it again for nostalgia’s sake.
1990s me loved this book. I’m pretty sure I bought it at a scholastic book fair. Had to read it again for nostalgia’s sake.
November 3, 2013
I was in Dallas, Texas the day this book came out:) Needless to say, I was super excited to buy this book at the time! I read this book everyday for a month!At the time, I could not stop dreaming of being just like Dominique someday!
April 13, 2015
I would have loved this if I were to have been Dominique's age or younger when I read it. It was obvious to me that she had not found her own voice yet when she wrote this...even though I was not yet aware of the content "Off Balance: A Memoir".
May 26, 2007
In 7th grade, a bunch of my friends and I had a huge crush on her. In retrospect, she was only trying to get us to buy her so-so autobiography. Blast...
September 5, 2007
I bought this right after the women's gymnastics team won their gold medals. It's a fairly good short biography.
April 21, 2008
Not a great read but it satisfied my curiosity.
March 11, 2009
I love this book! I love gymnastics! I love Dominique! I love Bela! It was awesome for a gymnast like me. She did her school by video! she spent most of her time at the gym! heaven 4 me!
October 15, 2014
I love gymnastics and I love to read about them. This was a really good book.
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February 25, 2016Mostly read to get context for her later memoir. That her parents thought to test her gymnastics potential by checking the strength of her grip at 6 months old is disturbing.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews