Lauren Hopkins

When It Counts Lauren Hopkins

A year ago, 15-year-old Amalia Blanchard failed to qualify to nationals, but now with less than two months until the 2016 Olympic Games, she's the United States beam champion on her way to fight for a spot on the Olympic team. Gymnastics is Amalia's life and she's sacrificed everything to get this far, but she still has to prove she has what it takes to stand out in Rio. The competition is tough and nothing is guaranteed, not even for her teammates, recently-crowned national champion Ruby Spencer, who missed the 2012 Olympics after rupturing her Achilles a month before the Games, and world champion Emerson Bedford, whose personal drama is threatening her mental game when she needs it most. Picking up where "Finding Our Balance" left off, "When It Counts" follows Amalia, Ruby, and Emerson on the next steps in their journey to Rio. YA Fiction - appropriate for those age 13+ This is the second book in a three-part series.