ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE SUMMER BY POPSUGAR, FROLIC, PARADE, TRAVEL & LEISURE, SHE KNOWS, and SHE READS!
NAMED A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF 2020 (SO FAR).
βFast Girlsis a compelling, thrilling look at what it takes to be a female Olympian in pre-war America...Brava to Elise Hooper for bringing these inspiring heroines to the wide audience they so richly deserve.ββTara Conklin,New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Last RomanticsandThe House Girl****
**Acclaimed author Elise Hooper explores the gripping, real life history of female athletes, members of the first integrated womenβs Olympic team, and their journeys to the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Nazi Germany.Perfect for readers who love untold stories of amazing women, such asThe Only Woman in the Room, Hidden Figures,andThe Lost Girls of Paris.
In the 1928 Olympics, Chicagoβs Betty Robinson competes as a member of the first-ever womenβs delegation in track and field. Destined for further glory, she returns home feted as Americaβs Golden Girl until a nearly-fatal airplane crash threatens to end everything.
Outside of Boston, Louise Stokes, one of the few black girls in her town, sees competing as an opportunity to overcome the limitations placed on her. Eager to prove that she has what it takes to be a champion, she risks everything to join the Olympic team.
From Missouri, Helen Stephens, awkward, tomboyish, and poor, is considered an outcast by her schoolmates, but she dreams of escaping the hardships of her farm life through athletic success. Her aspirations appear impossible until a chance encounter changes her life.
These three athletes will join with others to defy societyβs expectations of what women can achieve. As tensions bring the United States and Europe closer and closer to the brink of war, Betty, Louise, and Helen must fight for the chance to compete as the fastest women in the world amidst the pomp and pageantry of the Nazi-sponsored 1936 Olympics in Berlin.