Book Review

Jenna Blair’s Book Review

I read “I Got This” to gold and beyond by gold medal winning Olympic gymnast and Dancing with the stars champion Laurie Hernandez. This book was published on January 24th, 2017 by HarperCollins Publishers in New York. This book is set up in first person point of view. There is an introduction,contents,acknowledgments,pictures,glossary of gymnastics terms, and Laurie’s official records. In the middle of the book there is pictures of Laurie and her accomplishments. I love how Laurie is called,“The Human Emoji” becuase of her facial expressions in her floor routine, and there is an emoji in the book for every chapter.

At only sixteen years old, Laurie has made many of her dreams come true. Laurie is a Latina Jersey girl who shows you how she took a dramatic turn in 2016 when she was chosen to be a part of the US Olympic gymnastics team. Other than team USA winning, Laurie has also earned an individual silver medal on beam. Although Laurie has had many rough times like having several injuries, but gymnastics is where her heart is at. After the Olympics Laurie joined Dancing With The Stars and she won the mirror ball with her amazing partner, Val Chmerkovskiy. In this book it shows you Laurie’s Olympic path and where it takes her next.

On chapter 7 and 14 there was big changes in the book. Laurie faced a wrist injury from doing a skill on the beam and many other injuries like tearing her patella ligament and dislocating her kneecap, but that didn’t hold her back from reaching her dreams. She had to sit out for some meets but she confidently knew she would bounce back before the next meet season. Foreshadowing into chapter 14 it tells you that Laurie has made the Olympic team. All of her hard work and determination has got her to where she is now.

This book was very appealing to me because I do gymnastics. The main reason that it stood out to me is because the Olympics was just recently, and Laurie Hernandez is my favorite Olympic gymnast. From Laurie’s point of view she tells everyone how she experienced this amazing journey. Therefore Laurie couldn’t of done this without everyone who helped her.

The main claim is that the book is titled “I Got This” to gold and beyond. There is a reason for that because in the Olympics right before Laurie went on beam she whispered to herself “I got this”. That is what symbolizes Laurie’s book. There may be tough times but if you believe, you can achieve anything. She teaches everyone to go for the gold and reach your dreams.

The author credentials are all of Laurie’s information wrote by her. She is an author who is an Olympian and Dancing With The Stars champion. Laurie’s career highlights are phenomenal. Laurie persuades you to always do your best at all times and to set high goals. She is known for her dazzling floor routines and her grace and artistry on the balance beam.

Personally I think that anyone who likes gymnastics will absolutely love this book. Just from Laurie’s experiences you can learn so much on what it takes to accomplish what she has successfully done. She tells you what it is like to be Laurie Hernandez; she will motivate you, inspire you, and make you believe.