Unstoppable by Maggie Nichols

Having been a gymnast and have loved gymnastics since a very young age it is no surprise that any book that details the life of a gymnast especially one who had such highs and lows makes it that much more sweet.

A number of years ago the sexual abuse scandal rocked USA gymnastics with Larry Nassar was accused of sexual assault or misconduct against hundreds of young women.

At that point Maggie wasn’t on my radar but her impact statement made me really want to see what she could do. I began watching NCAA and she captivated me with her abilities and the fact she didn’t water down her routines that much from elite to college.

I love how she talks about making her own path to elite by staying with her coaches that she loved being with and not moving to a more prominent gym. She talks about the training and hard work she put into her career and making it to elite level.

Elite is the ultimate goal of any gymnast as its where you can go to the world championships or the Olympics. It is the highest honour and shows the perseverance of your hard work. Maggie epitomises that in everything she does and you can see how passionate she is just in her writing.

I loved the giving back that she also did when she was younger by helping out at her gym especially with the special Olympics athletes as it shows a huge amount of character and that she wanted to make sure that she was giving back to the sport she loved.

Talking about the camp at the ranch with the Karolyis shows that my thoughts about Marta were true. Seeing what they did to these poor ladies makes me hate them even more than I already did. Body shaming is so detrimental to your sense of self worth especially as a teen.

The heartbreaking story of the athletes and the Larry Nassar trial had me crying for this young lady. While she was victimized first by Nassar and then by the organization that she had put so much into was so sad. She survived and became stronger and had great support system. It was refreshing to see those supporting her and that she is able to not let what they did to her ruin her life.

The book was so great and I loved learning more about this strong lady who pushed things further than many others. Her perseverance is what has made me like her even more as she shows it both as a person as well as a gymnast.