Courage to Soar

A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance

By: Simone Biles, Michelle Burford, Mary Lou Retton - introduction

Narrated by: Imani Parks

In Courage to Soar, the official autobiography from four-time Olympic gold-winning and record-setting American gymnast Simone Biles, Simone shares how her faith, family, passion, and perseverance has made her one of the top athletes and gymnasts in the world—and how you too can overcome challenges in your life.

Simone Biles’ entrance into the world of gymnastics may have started on a field trip in her hometown of Spring, Texas, but her God-given talent, along with drive to succeed no matter the obstacle, are what brought her to the national spotlight during the Olympic Games and have catapulted her ever since—including 25 World Championship medals. But there is more to Simone than her accomplishments.

In this book Simone shares:

• how she has relied on her faith and family to stay focused and positive
• the ways she’s continued competing at the highest level and having fun doing what she loves
• a behind-the-scenes looks at gymnastics events, including the Olympics
• the events and challenges that carried her from an early childhood in foster care to a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic team
• Along the way, Simone shares the details of her inspiring personal story—one filled with daily acts of courage that led her, and can lead you, to even the most unlikely of dreams.

Courage to Soar:

• presents a positive role model for young girls, whether athletes or not
• is an ideal gift for birthdays, holidays, or to celebrate important achievements
• is perfect for school assignments and reports
• is an inspirational story for fans of gymnastics or any sport
• contains an eight-page, full-color photo insert

Critic reviews

Nineteen-year-old Biles, Olympic gold medalist and the most decorated U.S. gymnast of all time, takes readers along her journey to the podium in this memoir. After spending her early childhood in and out of foster care, Biles was adopted by her biological grandparents. She began her gymnastics training at the age of six after a field trip to Bannon’s Gymnastix, where the coaches quickly discovered that she “had what it took to go all the way.” Biles describes not only her gymnastics training and career but also her personal life, including her grandmother’s death, the difficult decisions she made in order to balance school and gymnastics, her “bratty period” in her early teens, and her love for her car, with its zebra-print interior. In recent years, Biles has won three consecutive world championship titles followed by her team gold and individual wins at the 2016 Olympics. Biles’s narration is effervescent, showing her to be, as her brother says, “a goofy and down-to-earth kid.” The tone is conversational and includes casual phrases such as “if you can’t already tell” and “just kidding.” She expresses appreciation for her family, friends, teammates, and coaches and frequently credits God and her faith for her success. One slight caveat: readers without background knowledge about gymnastics may not find the terminology to be adequately explained. VERDICT Essential for libraries serving tween and teen gymnastics fans.–Magdalena Teske, Naperville Public Library, IL

The making of a Champion

I always knew a lot of time went into becoming an elite gymnast, however, listening to this book, I realize even more, all the sacrifices one makes in order to accomplish such dreams. This book was well written and well narrated. I also loved that each chapter started out with a quote and the quote’s author. Great piece of work. I encourage every child, young or old, to read Simone’s journey in becoming the most decorated gymnast in the world. Let Simone’s unwavering determination inspire you to accomplish your goals too!!!

Terrible narrating

Loved the content, but found the narrating really distracting - particularly each time the narrator pretended to speak like Marta.

Amazing

I love Simone and this book was super encouraging great book for gymnast one of the best books I’ve read

The GOAT!

Loved listening to Simone’s story. She’s remarkable and talented woman. Thank you for writing your journey.

Flawless

Simone story is truly amazing. to go from a foster youth to a multi metal winning Olympic athlete is almost impossible. but what is most inspiring to me is that she handled it all with such Grace and it's truly real.