Hannah Orenstein wrote Head Over Heels before Covid happened, and before the 2020 Olympics were postponed. So, her novel reads like a “what if?” sorta proposition. The story follows Avery, a former elite gymnast whose Olympic dreams were dashed by an injury, and her emotionally abusive coach traumatized her as well. After years of listlessness, a bad breakup causes her to move back to her hometown. There, she runs into her former crush/fellow gymnastics star, Ryan. Things get interesting when he asks her to help him coach a promising young gymnast, Hallie.
Avery and Ryan, while coaching their student Hallie, struggle with their own feelings for each other. Their shared experiences as elite gymnasts draw them together and they engage in some clever banter and a convincing chemistry develops. The most interesting part of the novel, however, is the gymnastics, and how Orenstein delves into the challenges and traumas of the sport. However, I wish the author had dug deeper.
The main antagonist, Avery’s old coach Demitri, needs a larger role. We learn about what he did mostly by Avery’s descriptions, but there isn’t much exploration about how his emotional abuse affected her. There’s also a subplot with an abusive doctor (clearly inspired by Larry Nassar) but it barely scratched the surface of what went on. I understand that this novel was meant to be a light-hearted romance, and on that level it succeeds. But all the conflicts, including the one between Avery and Ryan, are too easily resolved.
Nonetheless, Head Over Heels is a great read for gymnastics fans, with complex issues and themes of female empowerment woven in.
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