Fast Girls
Book Review - Fast Girls by Elise Hooper
I had the opportunity to meet and interview Elise Hooper in my hometown of Jefferson City when she was on tour for Learning to See and researching her next novel, Fast Girls. One of the main characters, Helen Stephens, is from Fulton, MO which isn’t too far from Jeff (that’s what the locals call Jefferson City) and the University of Missouri has a collection of Helen’s things. I was thrilled when Elise asked if I’d do an in-conversation with her at the Jefferson City Public Library. I was hoping to see her again this year, but alas, the universe had other plans.
Book Review - Fast Girls by Elise Hooper
Fast Girls is a novel about the 1936 Women's Olympic Team, focusing on Chicago’s Betty Robinson, Boston’s Louise Stokes, and Fulton’s Helen Stephens…though many other notable characters make an appearance. Right out of the gate Elise hits us with timely, heavy topics including racism, rape, and the suppression of homosexuality. Fast Girls begins in 1928 with the first Olympic women’s track and field team and ends with the 1936 Nazi-sponsored Olympics. It tells the back story of each character and how they made it to this historic event.
Book Review - Fast Girls by Elise Hooper
At 511 pages, Fast Girls is a bit longer than I tend to go for. But because I read and LOVED Learning to See and vowed to read anything Elise Hooper ever wrote, I didn’t think twice about accepting Fast Girls for review. And I would’ve missed out if I’d passed it over because of its length. I loved this book and flew through it in just one week. Elise did an amazing job bringing to life each character but I was most fascinated by her description of the atmosphere at the 1936 Olympics.
Book Review - Fast Girls by Elise Hooper
