Dominique MoceanuRezensionen

An unsettling memoir by an Olympic gymnast who was part of the Magnificent Seven in the 1996 games - winning the first-ever Gold medal for the USA in team competition. The story covers Dominique's struggle through the years, both at home and with her coaches, illustrating that men in both areas of her life traumatized her deeply. There were many secrets - one which would later surface and transform her personal life in unexpected ways. The book is very revealing with respect to women's gymnastics and pushes us all to scrutinize what we ask of these young girls as they enter the sport on the country's behalf. This is a very timely read in 2021 due to the failure of the US Olympic Committee in protecting numerous, young gymnasts from sexual abuse from the longtime team doctor. Yes I would recommend this book -- Reviewed by bconlin

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.

I really enjoyed this book, both for its story about a long lost sister and it's insiders look at the sport of gymnastics.

A very insightful look at Women's Gymnastics in the United States. It will certainly make me watch this summer olympic competition with a different perspective. Moceanu was only 14 when she won a gold medal back in 1996 in Atlanta and after reading her story it's amazing that she is such a well adjusted and self confident young woman today.

Interesting to see how the cultural divide influenced how the author was treated with her coaching versus that of her compatriots. Proof that success is not always what it's cracked up to be. Really wish I could help her reform the gymnastics world.

I happened to see that Dominique Moceanu had written a memoir, so I thought it would be something a little different to read. It starts with her discovery when she is in her 20s that she has a sister who was born without legs that was given up for adoption right after she was born. The book alternates between Dominique developing a relationship with her long lost sister and stories of her gymnastics career. She tells of her abusive father who pushed too hard, the emotional abuse inflicted on her by Bela and Marta Karolyi as she trained for the 1996 Olympics, her experiments with drugs and alcohol after her early stardom, the lawsuit she filed against her parents for basically stealing all the money she made, struggles with body image, etc.

The writing style was juvenile with a lot of italics and exclamation points, but it made it a quick read, and I honestly couldn’t put it down.

Ms. Moceanu's book is a touching and fulfilling peek into the unberbelly of the gynmastics world.

This was a fun book and I really felt like I learned a lot about gymnastics and Dominique from this book. However, at times it seemed a little too "politically correct" about certain aspects of her life.

Dominique has such an amazing story that it's a shame that this book isn't better. It was easy to read and engaging, but it often felt like a life summary instead of a life story. I got this book after watching the amazing segment about her and her sister on HBO's Real Sports, but it didn't really seem like I learned a lot more from the book than I did from the tv. It still was an enjoyable and interesting read, but I really think she could have used better collaborators who could have gotten her to go a little deeper.

What is it that drives us to achieve almost superhuman feats of physical prowess? In many cases it appears that a dysfunctional family is lurking in the background, as is the case with Dominique Moceanu, 1996 Olympic Gold medalist. This book is really a fascinating read, and it has it all - - overbearing father, abuse, vicious coaches, nurturing coaches, tales of practice, heartbreak, financial ruin, drugs, and elite-level gymnastics. A quick read, to be sure, but a fascinating look at the underside of elite gymnastics. I have to say that this book does not paint a flattering picture of the Karolyi camp or its influence on the US gymnastics program. Worth reading.

I love the Magnificent Seven, so when this memoir was released back in the summer I made a mental note of reading it during the winter break (school work etc). It's no surprised my favorite chapters of this memoir were those that deal with gymnastics and Domi's experience in the Olympics. I often skimmed the chapters in between because I knew an Olympics/Gymnastics chapter was coming up. I have to say I found it hard to be interested in Moceanu's personal chapters regarding her sister Jennifer, sure the story is shocking and interesting at first. Moceanu's parent's gave Jennifer up for adoption and Dominique never knew until later in life. But once that loses the shock value, which is pretty quickly, since it's in the summary for the book, I just wanted to move on to the Olympic chapters. As well there's some juicy gossip on the Karolys which I found entertaining.

This book is awesome because gymnastics is my thing and that is what this book is about. There is also some romance about her and this boy she likes but dose not want to tell him or anyone.

I love reading about gymnastics and this one did not disappoint. So glad she connected with the sister she never knew she had. The amount of work, pain, and starvation these poor girls go through. I will never look at the Karolis with admiration again, rather with disdain. Remarkable how rounded Dominique turned out despite everything she went through.½

My inner 14-year-old was very excited to read this book and my 30-year-old self was not disappointed either. Dominique Moceanu, the youngest American gymnast to win a gold medal, spills all here in her memoir. From dealing with a verbally abusive father and coaches to meeting a long-lost sister in her late-20s to being denied a comeback in gymnastics because of Marta Karolyi's control over the sport, there isn't a dull moment in this memoir. Recommended for fans of gymnastics and anyone (like me) who remembers cheering on the Magnificent Seven during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. This may have crossover appeal for teens; I think they'd be into the dramatic story (most of which takes place over Dominique's teenage years), but I'm not sure they'd know who Dominique Moceanu is.

I got caught up in this book, and tried to imagine not really ever having a childhood. Dominique Moceanu started gymnastics at the age of three. She began competing at such a young age and winning Olympic Gold Medals at the age of 13.
We explore her home life, and the moving and practicing. Finally ending up with the Karolyi's and their style of training!
Be prepared to wish you were able to help this young child, and then along comes another secret....the missing piece?
With the 2012 Olympics approaching, we are given an eye opening look into the inner sanctum of and Elite Gymnast.
While the book does seem to keep repeating facts, it does tell a good and true story.

I received this book from Simon and Schuster and was not required to give a positive review.

This beginning of a new series for juveniles by Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu is not the strongest book but isn't terrible either.

The main character, Britt, is moving to Texas to train as an elite gymnast. Britt is a very unlikable character. It gets old that she constantly tries to do what she thinks is right in extremely wrong ways.

Another issue that I found quite annoying was consistenly mentioning the beam width. This only needs to be done once particularly since most readers will already be familiar with gymanstics.

The story moves quickly and has high points. However, this is not nearly as strong of a series as the old "Gymnasts" series.½